Sayings of Kings and Commanders

Plutarch

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1931.

Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Capítulo intro

[intro.1] Anyone who reads some of the many articles which have been written about the Sayings of Kings and Commanders found in Plutarch’s works would almost certainly gain the impression that the whole book is a tasteless forgery; yet a closer study would probably convince him that the Sayings are, in the main, just as truly the work of Plutarch as the poems of Sappho or Alcaeus which we now possess are the works of those authors. The only question, then, is how it happens that the Sayings stand in their present form, and this will doubtless serve as a topic for debate in the future, as it has in the past, since it can never be definitely settled.

The assumption that the whole book is a forgery can only be regarded as nonsense. Many of the stories included here are found also in other writers, such, for example, as Aelian, Polyaenus, or Valerius Maximus, and the relation between the versions found in the different writers is quite the same as the relation between other stories found in the indisputably genuine works of Plutarch and the versions found in other writers.

A second assumption that some of the stories were put together by a later writer who copied them largely from Plutarch’s Lives (when there were Lives from which they could be copied) is more plausible in the case of many of the Sayings, especially since the versions often coincide (in whole or part) in language. At the same time a comparison of the versions found here with the versions found in the Lives, for example, of Phocion, or Fabius Maximus, or the elder Cato, will probably serve to convince an unprejudiced reader that these were not copied verbatim from the Lives, but that they have been put down independently from the same or the original source. A special stress is laid by those who uphold this theory upon the words ταῦτα μὲν ὕστερον (196 e), but that again is only a natural observation which anyone writing a memorandum might properly make regarding that incident, and anyone enthusiastic in supporting the genuineness of the Sayings might equally well suggest that this was an observation of some copyist, put down as a marginal note, which has crept into the text.

There remains, then, the possibility that the Sayings are in the main the work of Plutarch, written by him in practically their present form, and that some of these were copied into the Lives rather than from the Lives. Plutarch himself tells us, in Moralia 464 f and 457 D,In 457 d if. Plutarch gives some examples of the kind of anecdotes which he is wont to collect, and some of these are identical with those found in the Sayings of Kings and Commanders. that he was in the habit of making collections of notes of this sort, and certainly nothing could be more natural than that the author of the Lives, to say nothing of the Moralia, should get together some of his material in more accessible form, especially in view of the difficulty, in ancient times, of consulting books, which were written and kept in the form of a roll. The arrangement of the Sayings of Kings and Commanders is roughly chronological, with some retrogressions. The Greeks (and Persians) and the Romans are grouped separately. If these sayings were extracted from the Lives by a writer as dullwitted as many would have us believe he was, it might reasonably be expected that he would have jumbled the Greeks and the Romans together as they are alternated, in the Lives, but such is not the case. It will be noted that the names of the Spartans whose sayings are recorded in a similar collection are arranged in alphabetical order for convenience in consultation.

In Lampriass catalogue of Plutarch’s works the Sayings of Kings and Commanders is listed as No. 108, and Stobaeus, in his Florilegium, quotes from it freely. Of the large number of quotations from this work which are to be found in Stobaeus an overwhelming majority agree in language either verbatim or almost verbatim, and are not in agreement verbatim with variant versions found elsewhere in the Lives or the Moralia or in Aelian or Polyaenus. In one case Stobaeus (Florilegium, liv. 43 = Moralia 788 d and not 187c) seems to have preferred aversion found elsewhere in the Moralia, and in one other case (vii. 48 = Life of Lycurgus, chap. xx. 4, rather than Moralia, 190 d, or 215 d) a version found in the Lives. It is clear, then, that the book was in existence as an independent volume in the time of Stobaeus, and probably earlier.

Whether Plutarch ever meant that this collection should be published, or whether he himself provided the introduction addressed to the Emperor Trajan, are questions of minor importance. In ancient times, no doubt, as in later days royalty could not afford to spend too much time with books, and welcomed predigested information.

Plutarch very seldom tells the same story in the same words. Over and over again in his works we find a story repeated with minor variations in language, or in expansion or condensation, which often serve to adapt it better to its context, or, again, seem to serve no purpose except to avoid sameness; and so with the stories in this collection: when they are repeated in other parts of Plutarch’s works they almost always show the same minor variations which are so characteristic of Plutarch.Of the hundred or two hundred or more examples which might be cited (and which may be found by consulting the footnotes in the following pages) three or four must here suffice. One may compare the four accounts of Ada’s cooks (180 a), or the three versions of Antigonus’s modesty (183 c), or the remark of Lysimachus to Philippides (183 e), copied practically verbatim by Stobaeus, Florilegium xlix. 19, which looks like an original memorandum, while the other versions (Moralia 508 c and 517 β) appear to be adapted to their context; or the retort of Phocion to Antipater (188 f), six times repeated, in which the language of the retort is always essentially the same, but the setting is regularly adapted to the context.

It is an interesting academic study, for those to whom such studies appeal, to compare the different versions of the same story, and to try to draw conclusions as to which version is derived from the other, or the others (as has been done by Carl Schmidt, De apophthegmatum quae sub Plutarchi nomine feruntur collectionibus, Greifswalde, 1879), One may compare also Wilhelm Gemoll, Das Apophthegma (Leipzig, 1924), which is a discursive essay on the apophthegm, anecdote, novel, and romance, with relatively little reference to Plutarch. but such studies are bound to be unconvincing at best.

Of many of the stories there is no variant version. Some were doubtless used in lives or essays by Plutarch which are now lost, and some were doubtless meant to be included in lives or essays which were never written.

The collection in whole or in part is probably as well known as anything that Plutarch has written, for parts of it have become proverbial, and so it is not surprising that some of the sayings have been attributed to other well-known men, both ancient and modern, or that other men both ancient and modern have given utterance to them as their own.

Capítulo 1

[1.1] Artaxerxes, the king of the Persians, O Trajan, Emperor Most High and Monarch Supreme, used to think that, as compared with giving large gifts, it was no less the mark of a king and a lover of his fellow-men to accept small gifts graciously and with a ready goodwill; and so, on a time when he was riding by, and a simple labourer, possessed of nothing else, took up water from the river in his two hands and offered it to the king, he accepted it pleasantly and with a cheerful smile, measuring the favour by the ready goodwill of the giver and not by the service rendered by the gift. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Artaxerxes, chap. v. (1013 B C), and Aelian, Varia Historia, i. 32.

Lycurgus made the sacrifices in Sparta very inexpensive, Plutarch repeats this statement in Moralia, 228 D, Life of Lycurgus, chap. xix. (p. 52 A), and Commentary on Hesiod, 26 (Works and Days, 336). Cf. also Plato, Alcibiades II. p. 149 A-C. so that people might be able always to honour the gods readily and easily from what they had at hand. And so, with some such thought in mind, I likewise offer to you trifling gifts and tokens of friendship, the common offerings of the first-fruits that come from philosophy, Cf. Plato, Protagoras, p. 343 B. and I beg that you will be good enough to accept, in conjunction with the author’s ready goodwill, the utility which may be found in these brief notes, if so be that they contain something meet for the true understanding of the characters and predilections of men in high places, which are better reflected in their words than in their actions. True it is that a work of mine comprises the lives also of the most noted rulers, lawgivers, and monarchs among the Romans and the Greeks; but their actions, for the most part, have an admixture of chance, whereas their pronouncements and unpremeditated utterance in connexion with what they did or experienced or chanced upon afford an opportunity to observe, as in so many mirrors, the workings of the mind of each man. In keeping herewith is the remark of Seiramnes the Persian who, in answer to those who expressed surprise because, while his words showed sense, his actions were never crowned with success, said that he himself was master of his words, but chance, together with the King, was master of his actions. Diodorus Siculus, xv. 41, represents this remark as made by Pharnabazus, the Persian satrap, to Iphicrates, the Athenian general.

In the Lives the pronouncements of the men have the story of the men’s actions adjoined in the same pages, and so must wait for the time when one has the desire to read in a leisurely way; but here the remarks, made into a separate collection quite by themselves, serving, so to speak, as samples and primal elements of the men’s lives, will not, I think, be any serious tax on your time, and you will get in brief compass an opportunity to pass in review many men who have proved themselves worthy of being remembered.

Capítulo 2

[2.1] The Persians are enamoured of hook-nosed persons, because of the fact that Cyrus, the best loved of their kings, had a nose of that shape. Cf. Moralia, 821 E.

[2.2] Cyrus said that those who are unwilling to procure good things for themselves must of necessity procure them for others. He also said that no man has any right to rule who is not better than the people over whom he rules. Cf. Xenophon, Cyropaedia, i. 6. 8, and vii. 5. 83. The sentiment is not novel, and may be found in other writers.

[2.3] When the Persians wished to acquire a level and tractable land in place of their own, which was mountainous and rugged, Cyrus would not allow them to do so, saying that both the seeds of plants and the lives of men are bound to be like the land of their origin.Plutarch probably took this from Herodotus, ix. 122, who in turn may have drawn upon Hippocrates; cf. Airs, Waters, and Places, chap. xxiv. (Hippocrates in L.C.L.; pp. 132-136). Cf. also Plato, Laws, p. 695 A; Livy, xxiv. 25. The idea is not novel, and may be found in other writers. It was again repeated in 1926 by Calvin Coolidge in regard to the rugged hills of Vermont.

Capítulo 3

[3.1] Darius, the father of Xerxes, said in praise of himself that in battles and in the face of formidable dangers he became more cool and collected. Cf. Moralia, 792 C.

[3.2] After fixing the amount of the taxes which his subjects were to pay, he sent for the leading men of the provinces, and asked them if the taxes were not perhaps heavy; and when the men said that the taxes were moderate, he ordered that each should pay only half as much. The same story with variations may be found in Polyaenus, Strategemata, vii. 11. 3. Nothing to this effect is to be found in Herodotus’s account of Darius’s taxation, iii. 86-95.

[3.3] As Darius was opening a big pomegranate, someone inquired what there was of which he would like to have as many in number as the multitude of seeds in the pomegranate, and he replied, Men like Zopyrus. The same story is found in Herodotus, iv. 143, but with the name of Megabazus instead of Zopyrus. Zopyrus was a brave man and a friend of his.

[3.4] Zopyrus, by disfiguring himself with his own hands and cutting off his nose and ears, tricked the Babylonians, and by winning their confidence succeeded in handing over the city to Darius. Many a time Darius said that he would not take an hundred Babylons as the price of not having Zopyrus unscathed. Herodotus, iii. 154-160; cf. Polyaenus, Strategemata, vii. 13.

Capítulo 4

[4.1] Semiramis Herodotus, i. 187, says that Nitocris built the tomb above the gates of Babylon. Stobaeus, x. 53, copies Plutarch word for word. caused a great tomb to be prepared for herself, and on it this inscription: Whatsoever king finds himself in need of money may break into this monument and take as much as he wishes. Darius accordingly broke into it, but found no money; he did, however, come upon another inscription reading as follows: If you were not a wicked man with an insatiate greed for money, you would not be disturbing the places where the dead are laid.

Capítulo 5

[5.1] Ariamenes, the brother of Xerxes son of Darius, was on his way down from the Bactrian country to contest Xerxes’ right to the kingdom. Xerxes accordingly sent him gifts, bidding those who offered them to say, With these gifts Xerxes your brother now honours you; and if he be proclaimed king, you shall be the highest at his court. When Xerxes was designated as the king, Ariamenes at once paid homage to him, and placed the crown upon his brother’s head, and Xerxes gave him a rank second only to himself. Plutarch tells the story with more details in Moralia, 488 D-F. The tradition which Plutarch follows is quite different from that of Herodotus, vii. 1-4.

[5.2] Angered at the Babylonians, who had revolted, The usual tradition is that Babylong revolted from Darius; Herodotus, iii. 150. he overpowered them, and then ordained that henceforth they should not bear arms, but should play the i lyre and flute, keep public prostitutes, engage in I petty trade, and wear long flowing garments.Cyrus is said to have employed this device against the Lydians; Herodotus, i. 156; Polyaenus, Strategemata, vii. 6. 4; Justin, Hist. Philip, i. 7. For two other instances cf. the scholia on Sophocles, Oedipus Col. 329, and Dionysius Hal. Antiq. Rom. vii. 9.

[5.3] He said he would not eat figs from Attica which had been imported for sale, but would eat them when he had obtained possession of the land that bore them. Cf.Athenaeus, p. 652 B.

[5.4] When he caught Greek spies in his camp, he did them no injury, but, after bidding them observe his army freely, let them go. The story is told in Herodotus, vii. 146-147.

Capítulo 6

[6.1] Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, called Longhand, because of his having one hand longer than the other Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Artaxerxes, chap. i. (1011 E). used to say that it is more kingly to give to one who has than to take away.

[6.2] He was the first to issue an order that any of his companions in the hunt who could and would might throw their spears without waiting for him to throw first.Xenophon (Cyropaedia, i. 4. 14) attributes this innovation to the elder Cyrus; but Cf. Ctesias, Persica, frag. 40.

[6.3] He was the first to ordain this form of punishment for those of the ruling class who offended: Instead of having their bodies scourged and the hair plucked from their heads, they took off their outer garments and these were scourged, and put off their head-dress and this was plucked. Cf. Moralia, 35 E and 565 A, and Wyttenbach’s note on the latter passage.

[6.4] Satibarzanes, his chamberlain, made a dishonourable request of him, and it came to his knowledge that the man was doing this for thirty thousand pounds; whereupon he directed his treasurer to bring him thirty thousand pounds, and, as he gave the money to his chamberlain, he said, Take this, Satibarzanes; for if I make you this gift I shall not be poorer, but if I do that deed I shall be more dishonourable !

Capítulo 7

[7.1] Cyrus the younger, in urging the Spartans to ally themselves with him, said that he had a stouter heart than his brother, and that he could drink more strong wine than his brother could and carry it better; moreover, that at hunts his brother could hardly stay on his horse, and at a time of terror not even on his throne. Cyrus urged the Spartans to send him men, promising to give horses to the foot-soldiers, chariots to those who had horses, villages to those who owned farms, and to make those who had villages the masters of cities; and as for gold and silver there should be no counting, but weighing instead. The content of the passage agrees, in the main, with that of Plutarch’s Life of Artaxerxes, chap. vi. (1013 F); but there he says, οὐκ ἀριθμὸν ἀλλὰ μέτρον, not counting but measuring out.

Capítulo 8

[8.1] Artaxerxes, Cyrus’s brother, called Mnemon, Because of his good memory. not only granted audience freely to those who wished to speak with him, but also bade his wife draw aside the curtains from her carriage so that those who desired might speak with her on the road. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Artaxerxes, chap. v. (1013 D-E).

[8.2] A poor man brought to him an apple of extraordinary size which he accepted with pleasure, and at the same time he remarked, By Mithras I swear it seems to me that this man would make a big city out of a small one if it were entrusted to his charge. Ibid. chap. iv. (1013 B).

[8.3] Once in a precipitate retreat his baggage was plundered, and as he ate dry figs and barley-bread he exclaimed, What a pleasure is this which has never been mine before! Ibid. chap. xii. (1017 B_ is a similar story regarding stale water.

Capítulo 9

[9.1] Parysatis, the mother of Cyrus and Artaxerxes, advised that he who was intending to talk frankly with the king should use words of softest texture.

Capítulo 10

[10.1] Orontes, the son-in-law of King Artaxerxes, became involved in disgrace because of an accusation, Against Tiribazus according to Diodorus, xv. 10-11, where the story is told at length. and, when the decision was given against him, he said that, as mathematicians’ fingers are able to represent tens of thousands at one time, and at another time only units, Cf. Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclopadie, ii. p. 1068. so it was the same with the friends of kings: at one time they are omnipotent and at another time almost impotent. A similar remark is attribute to Solon by Dogenes Laertius, i. 59.

Capítulo 11

[11.1] Memnon, who was waging war against Alexander on the side of King Darius, Circa 333 B.C. when one of his mercenary soldiers said many libellous and indecent things of Alexander, struck the man with his spear, saying, I pay you to fight Alexander, not to malign him.

Capítulo 12

[12.1] The kings of the Egyptians, in accordance with a rule of their own, used to require their judges to swear that, even if the king should direct them to decide any case unfairly, they would not do so. Cf. Diodorus, i. 71.

Capítulo 13

[13.1] Poltys, king of the Thracians at the time of the Trojan war, when once both the Trojans and the Greeks sent deputations to him at the same time, bade Alexander restore Helen and accept a couple of beautiful women from him,

Capítulo 14

[14.1] Teres, the father of Sitalces, used to say that whenever he had nothing to do and was not in the field with his army he felt that there was no difference between himself and his grooms. In Moralia, 729 C, this remark is attributed to Ateas, king of the Scythians.

Capítulo 15

[15.1] Cotys was once presented with a leopard, and he presented the donor with a lion in return. He was by nature very irascible and prone to punish severely any lapses in service. On a time when a friend from abroad brought him some vessels of earthenwrare, very fragile and delicate, wrought with figures in relief in a realistic and highly artistic manner, he gave presents to the friend, but broke all the vessels in pieces, so that I, as he said, may not in anger punish too severely those that break them.

Capítulo 16

[16.1] Idanthyrsus, the king of the Scythians, against whom Darius crossed the Danube, tried to persuade the despots of the lonians to break up the bridge that spanned the river, and then withdraw. But when they were not willing to do so because of their plighted word to Darius, he called them good slaves who would never run away. Cf. Herodotus, iv. 142.

Capítulo 17

[17.1] Ateas wrote to Philip: You are the ruler of the Macedonians who have learned to fight against men; but I am ruler of the Scythians who are able to fight against both hunger and thirst.

While he was engaged in currying his horse he asked the ambassadors who had come from Philip whether Philip did this.

Having captured in battle Ismenias, the very best of flute-players, he bade him play a tune. Everybody else was filled with admiration, but Ateas swore that it gave him more pleasure to hear his horse neigh.The story is repeated in nearly the same words in Moralia, 334 B and 1095 F. The fame of Ismenias is several times referred to by ancient writers. It may suffice to mention Plutarch, Moralia, 632 C.

Capítulo 18

[18.1] Scilurus, who left eighty sons surviving him, when he was at the point of death handed a bundle of javelins to each son in turn and bade him break it. After they had all given up, he took out the javelins one by one and easily broke them all, thereby teaching the young men that, if they stood together, they would continue strong, but that they would be weak if they fell out and quarrelled. Cf. Moralia, 511 C.

Capítulo 19

[19.1] Gelon, the despot, after vanquishing the Carthaginians off Himera, forced them, when he made peace with them, to include in the treaty an agreement to stop sacrificing their children to Cronus, Cf. Moralia, 171 (and the note), and 552 A. According to Diodorus, xx. 14, the practice was revived in 310 B.C., even if it had not persisted during the intervening years. Cf. G.F. Moore in the Journal of Biblical Literature, xvi. (1897), p. 161. Cronus is the Semitic El, Moloch, or Baal.

[19.2] He often led out the Syracusans to plant their fields, as if it had been for a campaign, so that the land should be improved by being worked, and the men should not deteriorate by being idle.

[19.3] He asked for money from the citizens, and, when they began to murmur, he said that he was asking for it with the intent to repay, and he did repay it when the war was over.

[19.4] At a party a lyre was passed around, and the others, one after the other, tuned it and sang, but the king ordered his horse to be led in, and nimbly and easily leapt upon its back. Cf. Themistocles’ boast, to which he resorted in self-defence under similarly embarrassing circumstances, in Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. ii. (112 C).

Capítulo 20

[20.1] Hiero, who succeeded Gelo as despot, used to say that not one of the persons who spoke frankly to him chose the wrong time.

[20.2] He felt that those who divulged a secret committed a serious offence also against those to whom they divulged it; for we hate, not only those who divulge such things, but also those who hear what we do not wish them to hear.

[20.3] On being reviled by someone for his offensive breath, he blamed his wife for never having told him about this; but she said, I supposed that all men smelled so. Cf. Moralia 90 B, and Lucian, Hermotimus, 34. Aristotle tells the same story of Gelon according to Stobaeus, Florilegium, v. 83.

[20.4] In answer to Xenophanes of Colophon, who had said that he could hardly maintain two servants, Hiero said, But Homer, whom you disparage, maintains more than ten thousand, although he is dead.

[20.5] He caused Epieharmus the comic poet to be punished because he made an indecent remark in the presence of his wife.

Capítulo 21

[21.1] Dionysius the Elder, when the speakers who were to address the people were drawing by lot the letters of the alphabet to determine their order of speaking, drew the letter M; and in answer to the man who said, Muddle-head you are, Dionysius, he replied, No ! Monarch I am to be, and after he had addressed the people he was at once chosen general by the Syracusans. Cf. Diodorus, xiii. 91-92.

[21.2] When, at the beginning of his rule, he was being besieged as the result of a conspiracy against him among the citizens, his friends advised him to abdicate unless he wished to be overpowered and put to death. But, on seeing that an ox slaughtered by a cook fell instantly, he said, Is it not then distasteful that we, for fear of death which is so momentary, should forsake such a mighty sovereignty ? Cf. Moralia, 783 C-D; Diodorus, xiv. 8; Aelian, Varia Historia, iv. 8; Polyaenus, v. 7.

[21.3] Learning that his son, to whom he was intending to bequeath his empire, had debauched the wife of a free citizen, he asked the young man, with some heat, what act of his father’s he knew of like that! And when the youth answered, None, for you did not have a despot for a father. Nor will you have a son, was the reply, unless you stop doing this sort of thing.

[21.4] At another time he went into his son’s house, and, observing a vast number of gold and silver drinking-cups, he exclaimed, There is no despot in you, for with all the drinking-cups which you are always getting from me you have not made for yourself a single friend.

[21.5] He levied money on the Syracusans, and later, when he saw them lamenting and begging and protesting that they had none, he ordered a second levy, and this he did twice or thrice. Cf. Aristotle, Politics, v. ii., and the Aristotelian Oeconomica, ii. 20, and Polyaenus, Strategemata, v. 19. But when, after calling for still more, he heard that they laughed and jeered as they went about in the market-place, he ordered a halt in the proceeding; For now they really have nothing, said he, since they hold us in contempt.

[21.6] When his mother, who was well on in years, wanted to get married, he said that he had the power to violate the laws of the State, but not the laws of Nature. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Solon, chap. xx. (89 D).

[21.7] While he punished relentlessly all other malefactors, he was very lenient with the footpads, so that the Syracusans should stop their dining and drinking together.

[21.8] A stranger professed that he would tell him privately and instruct him how to know beforehand those who were plotting against him, and Dionysus bade him speak; whereupon the stranger came close to him and said, Hand me a talent that you may give the impression that you have heard about the plotters’ secret signs; and Dionysius gave it, pretending that he had heard, and marvelling at the man’s clever tactics. Cf. Polyaenus, v. 2. 3, and Stobaeus, Florilegium, iii. 65.

[21.9] To the man who inquired if he were at leisure he said, I hope that may never happen to me ! Cf. Moralia, 792 C.

[21.10] Hearing that two young men at a drinking party had said much that was slanderous about him and his rule, he invited them both to dinner. And when he saw that the one drank much and talked freely, and the other indulged in drink sparingly and with great circumspection, he let the former go free, holding him to be by nature a hard drinker and a slanderous talker when in his cups, but the latter he caused to be put to death, holding that this man was disaffected and hostile as the result of deliberate choice.

[21.11] When some blamed him for honouring and advancing a bad man who was loathed by the citizens, he said, But it is my wish that there shall be somebody more hated than myself.

[21.12] When ambassadors from Corinth Cf. Diodorus, xv. 70. declined hi,s proffered gifts because of the law, which did not allow members of an embassy to receive gifts from a potentate, he said that they were playing a scurvy trick in taking away the only advantage possessed by despotism, and teaching that even a favour from a despot is a thing to be feared.

[21.13] Hearing that one of the citizens had some gold buried at his house he ordered the man to bring it to him. But when the man succeeded in keeping back a part of it, and later removed to another city and bought a farm, Dionysius sent for him, and bade him take the whole amount belonging to him, since he had now begun to use his wealth, and was no longer making a useful thing useless.

Capítulo 22

[22.1] The Younger Dionysius used to say that he gave bed and board to many learned men, not because he felt any admiration for them, but because he wished through them to gain admiration for himself.

[22.2] When Polyxenus, Cf. Plato’s Letters, ii. p. 314 C. who was skilled in argumentation, asserted that he had confuted the king, the latter said, Yes, very likely by your words, but by your deeds I confute you; for you forsake your own affairs, and pay court to me and mine.

[22.3] He was compelled to abdicate, and when a man said to him, What help have Plato and philosophy given to you ? his answer was: The power to submit to so great a change of fortune without repining. Cf. Plutarch, Life of Timoleon, chap. xv. (243 A).

[22.4] On being asked how his father, who was a poor man and a private citizen, had gained control over the Syracusans, and how he, who held control, and was the son of a despot, had come to lose it, he said, My father embarked upon his venture at a time when democracy was hated, but I at a time when despotism was odious.

[22.5] Being asked this same question by another man, By Philip of Macedon, according to Aelian, Varia Historia, xii. 60. he said, My father bequeathed to me his kingdom, but not his luck.

Capítulo 23

[23.1] Agathocles was the son of a potter. After he had made himself master of Sicily, and had been proclaimed king, he used to have drinking-cups of pottery placed beside those of gold, and as he pointed these out to the young men he would say, That is the sort of thing which I used to do formerly, but this is what I do now because of my diligence and fortitude. Cf. Moralia, 544 B, where the story is repeated in slightly different words.

[23.2] When he was besieging a city, some of the people on the wall reviled him, saying, Potter, how are you going to pay your soldiers’ wages ? But he, unruffled and smiling, said, If I take this town. And after he had taken it by storm he sold the captives as slaves, and said, If you revile me again, what I have to say will be said to your masters. Cf. Moralia, 458 F, where, however, the last remark is attributed to Antigonus the One-eyed.

[23.3] When the people of Ithaca complained of his sailors because they had put in at the island and had forcibly carried off some of the animals, he said, But your king carne to us, and not only took our flocks, but also blinded their shepherd, The Cyclops, Homer, Od. ix. 375. and went his way. Cf. Moralia, 557 B, where the story is repeated in fewer words.

Capítulo 24

[24.1] When Dion, who expelled Dionysius from his kingdom, heard that a plot against him was being set on foot by Callippus, in whom he placed the greatest trust above all other friends, both those at home and those from abroad, he could not bring himself to investigate, but said, It is better to die than to live in a state of continual watchfulness not only against one’s enemies but also against one’s friends. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Dion, chap. lvi. (982 D)). The story of the plot and the death of Dion is in chaps. liv.-lvii. Cf. also Valerius Maximus, iii. 8. Ext. 5.

Capítulo 25

[25.1] When Archelaus, at a convivial gathering, was asked for a golden cup by one of his acquaintances of a type not commendable for character, he bade the servant give it to Euripides; and in answer to the man’s look of astonishment, he said, It is true that you have a right to ask for it, but Euripides has a right to receive it even though he did not ask for it.

[25.2] When a garrulous barber asked him, How shall I cut your hair ? he said, In silence. Cf. Moralia, 509 A.

[25.3] When Euripides threw his arms around the fair Agathon in the midst of an evening party and kissed him, for all that Agathon was already bearded, Archelaus said to his friends, Do not be astonished; for even the autumn of the fair is fair. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades, chap. i. (192 A); Moralia, 770 C; and Aelian, Varia Historia, xiii. 4. In all three places the remark is attributed to Euripides.

[25.4] When Timotheus the harp-player had hopes of receiving a goodly sum, but received less, he plainly showed that he felt resentful towards Archelaus; and, once, as he was singing this brief line: Over the earth-born silver you rave. Cf. Bergk, Poet. Lyr. Graec. iii. p. 624, Timotheus, No. 14, or Edmonds, Lyra Graeca (in L.C.L.), iii. p. 330, No. 28. Plutarch repeats the story in Moralia, 334 B. he directed it towards Archelaus; whereupon Archelaus retorted upon him with this, That, however, is what you crave.

[25.5] When somebody had thrown water upon him, and he was incited by his friends against the man, he said, But it was not upon me that he threw it, but upon the man he thought me to be.

Capítulo 26

[26.1] Theophrastus has recorded that Philip, the father of Alexander, was not only great among kings, but, owing to his fortune and his conduct, proved himself still greater and more moderate Cf. Cicero, De Officiis, i. 26 (90).

[26.2] He said that he must congratulate the Athenians on their happy fortune if they could find ten men every year to elect as generals; for he himself in many years had found only one general, Parmenio.

[26.3] When several happy events were reported to him within a single day, he said, O Fortune, do me some little ill to offset so many good things like these ! Repeated in Moralia, 105 A and 666 A.

[26.4] After his victory over the Greeks, when some were advising him to hold the Greek cities in subjection by means of garrisons, he said that he preferred to be called a good man for a long time rather than a master for a short time.

[26.5] When his friends advised him to banish from his court a man who maligned him, he said he would not, so that the man should not go about speaking ill of him among more people. A similar story is told of Pyrrhus in Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus, chap. viii. (387 E).

[26.6] When Smicythus remarked maliciously of Nicanor that he was always speaking ill of Philip, and Philip’s companions thought that he ought to send for Nicanor and punish him, Philip said, But really Nicanor is not the worst of the Macedonians. We must investigate therefore whether something is not happening for which we are responsible. When he learned therefore that Nicanor was hard pressed by poverty, and had been neglected by him he directed that a present be given to the man. So when again Smicythus said that Nicanor was continually sounding the praises of Philip to everybody in a surprising way, Philip said, You all see that we ourselves are responsible for the good and the ill that is said of us. Cf. Themistius, Oration, vii. 95 B, and Frontinus, Strategemata, iv. 7. 37.

[26.7] He said that he felt very grateful to the popular leaders of the Athenians, because by maligning him they made him better both in speech and in character, For I try both by my words and by my deeds to prove that they are liars.

[26.8] When all the Athenians who had been taken captive at Chaeroneia were set free by him without ransom, Cf. Polybius, v. 10, and Diodorus, xvi. 87. but asked for the return of their clothing and bedding besides, and complained against the Macedonians, Philip laughed and said to his men, Does it not seem to you that the Athenians think they have been beaten by us in a game of knucklebones ?

[26.9] When the keybone of his shoulder had been broken in battle, Cf. Demosthenes, Oration xviii. (De Corona), 67 (p. 247), and Aulus Gellius, ii. 27. and the attending physician insistently demanded a fee every day, he said, Take as much as you wish; for you have the key in your charge ! The pun depends on the fact that κλείς means both key and collar-bone.

[26.10] Of two brothers, Both and Each, he observed that Each was sensible and practical, and Both was silly and foolish, and he remarked that Each was both and Both was neither!

[26.11] Those who counselled him to treat the Athen ians harshly he said were silly in urging a man who did everything and underwent everything for the sake of repute to throw away his chance to exhibit it.

[26.12] Being called upon to decide a suit between two knaves, he ordered the one to flee from Macedonia, and the other to pursue him.

[26.13] When he was about to pitch his camp in an excellent place, he learned that there was no grass for the pack-animals. What a life is ours, he said, if we must live to suit the convenience of the asses ! Cf. Moralia, 790 B; also Eunapius, Frag. 56 in Dindorf, Historici Graeci Minores, i. p. 249.

[26.14] When he was desirous of capturing a certain stronghold, his scouts reported that it was altogether difficult and quite impregnable, whereupon he asked if it were so difficult that not even an ass laden with money could approach it. Cf. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, i. 16. 12; Diodorus, xvi. 54.

[26.15] When the men associated with Lasthenes, the Olynthian, complained with indignation because some of Philip’s associates called them traitors, Cf. Moralia, 97 D. he said that the Macedonians are by nature a rough and rustic people who call a spade a spade. A reference to a line from an unknown comic poet quoted by Lucian, Iupiter Tragoedus, 32. Cf. also Lucian, Historia quomodo conscribenda sit, 41, and Kock, Com. Att. Frag. iii. p. 451, Adespota no. 227.

[26.16] He recommended to his son that he associate with the Macedonians so as to win their favour, and thus acquire for himself influence with the masses while another was reigning and while it was possible for him to be humane. Cf. Moralia, 806 B, Cicero, De Officiis, ii. 14 (48).

[26.17] He also advised him that, among the men of influence in the cities, he should make friends of both the good and the bad, and that later he should use the former and abuse the latter.

[26.18] Philon Probably the man mentioned by Demosthenes, Oration xix. 140 (p. 384). the Theban had been his benefactor and host during the time he spent as a hostage in Thebes, but later would not accept any gift from him; whereupon Philip said to him, Do not deprive me of my invincibility by letting me be outdone in benefactions and favours.

[26.19] On a time when many prisoners had been taken, Philip was overseeing their sale, sitting with his tunic pulled up in an unseemly way. So one of the men who were being sold cried out, Spare me, Philip, for I am a friend of your father’s. And when Philip askeds Where, sirrah, and how carne you to be such ? the man said, I wish to tell you privately, if I may come near you. And when he was brought forward, he said, Put your cloak a little lower, for you are exposing too much of yourself as you are sitting now. And Philip said, Let him go free, for it had escaped me that he is a truly loyal friend.

[26.20] Once when he was on the march, and was invited to dinner by a man of the land, he took a good many persons with him; and when he saw that his host was much perturbed, since the preparations that had been made were inadequate, he sent word in advance to each of his friends , and told them to leave room for cake. They took his advice and, expecting more to follow, did not eat much, and thus there was enough for all. The story is repeated in Moralia, 123 D and 707 B.

[26.21] When Hipparchus of Euboea died, Hipparchus, with two others, was set up by Philip as tyrant in Eretria about 343 B.C. See Demosthenes, Oration, ix. 58 (p. 125), and Oration xviii. 295 (p. 324). it was plain that Philip took it much to heart; and when somebody remarked, But, as a matter of fact, his death has come in fullness of time, Philip said, Yes, in fullness of time for him, it is true, but swiftly for me, for he came to his end too soon to receive from me, as he ought, favours worthy of our friendship.

[26.22] Learning that Alexander complained against him because he was having children by other women besides his wife, he said, Well then, if you have many competitors for the kingdom, prove yourself honourable and good, so that you may obtain the kingdom not because of me, but because of yourself. He bade Alexander give heed to Aristotle, and study philosophy, so that, as he said, you may not do a great many things of the sort that I am sorry to have done. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. ix. (669 A).

[26.23] He appointed one of Antipater’s friends to the position of judge, but later, on learning that the man dyed his beard and hair, he removed him, at the same time remarking that he did not believe that a man who was untrustworthy in the matter of hair was fit to be trusted in actions.The sentiment is attributed to Archidamus regarding a man from Chios, in Aelian, Varia Historia, vii. 20; cf. Stobaeus, Florilegium, xii. 20.

[26.24] While he was hearing the case of Machaetas, he was near falling asleep, and did not give full attention to the rights of the case, but decided against Machaetas. And when Machaetas exclaimed that he appealed from the decision, Philip, thoroughly enraged, said, To whom ? And Machaetas replied, To you yourself, Your Majesty, if you will listen awake and attentive. At the time Philip merely ended the sitting, but when he had gained more control of himself and realized that Machaetas was treated unfairly, he did not reverse his decision, but satisfied the judgement with his own money. Of an old woman in Stobaeus, Florilegium, xiii. 29 (quoted from Serenus) and Valerius Maximus, vi. 2, ext. 1; in the latter place is the more familiar appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober.

[26.25] When Harpalus, acting in behalf of his kinsman and intimate friend Crates, who was under condemnation for wrongdoing, proposed as a fair solution that Crates should pay the fine, but be absolved from the adverse judgement so that he should not be subject to reproach, Philip said, It is better that the man himself, rather than that we because of him, should be ill spoken of.

[26.26] When his friends were indignant because the people of the Peloponnesus hissed him at the Olympic games, although they had been treated well, he said, Well, what if they should be treated ill! Cf. Moralia, 143 F and 457 F. A similar remark of Pausanias is quoted in Moralia, 230 D.

[26.27] Once on a campaign he slept for an unusually long time, and later, when he arose, he said, I slept safely, for Antipater was awake. Cf. Athenaeus, p. 435 D.

[26.28] On another occasion when he was asleep in the daytime, and the Greeks who had gathered at his doors were indignant and complaining, Parmenio said,Do not be astonished that Philip is asleep now; for while you were asleep he was awake. Something remotely like this is told of ALexander in Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. xxxi. (683 E).

[26.29] When he desired to correct a harp-player at dinner, and to discuss the playing of this instrument, the harp-player said, God forbid, Your Majesty, that you should ever fall so low as to have a better knowledge of these matters than I. The story is found also in Moralia, 67 F, 334 D, and 634 D.

[26.30] At a time when he was at odds with Olympias, his wife, and with his son, Demaratus of Corinth arrived, and Philip inquired of him how the Greeks were feeling towards one another. And Demaratus said, Much right have you to talk about the harmony of the Greeks when the dearest of your own household feel so towards you ! Philip, taking the thought to heart, ceased from his anger, and became reconciled with them. Cf. Moralia, 70 B (which omits the conclusion) and Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. ix. (669 C).

[26.31] When a poor old woman insisted that her case should be heard before him, and often caused him annoyance, he said he had no time to spare, whereupon she burst out, Then give up being king. Philip, amazed at her words, proceeded at once to hear not only her case but those of the others. The story is told also in Plutarch’s Life of Demetrius, chap. xlii. (909 C). Stobaeus, Florilegium, xiii. 28, quotes Serenus, who states that a peasant made this remark to Antipater.

Capítulo 27

[27.1] While Alexander was still a boy and Philip was winning many successes, he was not glad, but said to d The story is told also in Plutarch’s Life of Demetrius, chap. xiii. (909 c). Stobaeus, Florilegium, xiii. 28, quotes Serenus, who states that a peasant made this remark to Anitpater. e Alexander the Great, born 356, king of Macedon 336323 B.C. his playmates, My father will leave nothing for me to do. But, said the boys, he is acquiring all this for you. But what good is it, said Alexander, if I possess much and accomplish nothing ? Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. v. (666 F). Many of the stories about Alexander are repeated in Zonaras, Epitome of History, iv. 8-15.

[27.2] Being nimble and swift of foot, he was urged by his father to run in the foot-race at the Olympic games. Yes, I would run, said he, if I were to have kings as competitors. Cf. Moralia, 331 B, and Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. iv. (666 D).

[27.3] A girl was brought to him late in the evening with the intent that she should spend the night with him, and he asked her, Why at this time ? She replied, I had to wait to get my husband to go to bed ; whereupon Alexander bitterly rebuked his servants, since, owing to them, he had so narrowly escaped becoming an adulterer.

[27.4] On a time when he was offering incense to the gods with lavish hand, and often taking up handfuls of the frankincense, Leonidas, who had been his attendant in boyhood, happening to be present, said, My boy, you may offer incense thus lavishly when you have made yourself master of the land that bears it. And so, when Alexander had become master of it, he sent a letter to Leonidas: I have sent to you a half-ton of frankincense and cassia, so that you may never again count any petty cost in dealing with the gods, since you know that we are now masters of the land that bears these fragrant things. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. xxv. (679 C); Pliny, Natural History, xii. 32 (62).

[27.5] Just before he fought the battle at Granicus he urged the Macedonians to eat without stint, and to bring out all they had, since on the morrow they should dine from the enemy’s stores.

[27.6] When Perillus, one of his friends, asked him for dowry for his girls, Alexander bade him accept ten thousand pounds. He said that two thousand would be enough; but Alexander said, Enough for you to accept, but not enough for me to give. Stories of this type about kings have long been popular and often repeated.

[27.7] He bade his manager give to Anaxarchus, the philosopher, as much as he asked for; and when the manager said that he asked for twenty thousand pounds, Alexander said, He does well, for he knows that he has a friend who is both able and willing to make such presents. Xencrates seems to have been the lucky recipient, while Anaxarchus received high esteem, according to Moralia, 331 E, and Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. viii. (668 E).

[27.8] When he saw in Miletus many statues of athletes who had won victories in the Olympic and the Pythian games, he said, Where were the men with bodies like these when the barbarians were besieging your city? Cf. in Aristophanes, Plutus, 1003, and Athenaeus, 523 F, the proverb, Once were the Milesians stout and strong.

[27.9] Ada, queen of the Carians, made it a point of honour to be always sending to him fancy dishes and sweetmeats prepared in unusual ways by the hands of artists and chefs, but he said he had better fancy cooks--his night marches for his breakfast, and for his dinner his frugal breakfast. The story with slight variations is found also in Moralia, 127 B, 1099 C, and the Life of Alexander, chap. xxii. (677 B).

[27.10] Once, when all preparations had been made for battle, his generals asked him whether there was anything else in addition to what they had done. Nothing, said he, except to shave the Macedonians’ beards. And as Parmenio expressed his surprise, Alexander said, Don’t you know that in battles there is nothing handier to grasp than a beard? Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Theseus, chap. iii. (3 A); Athenaeus, 565 A.

[27.11] When Darius offered him two million pounds, and also offered to share Asia equally with him, Parmenio said, I would take it if I were Alexander. And so indeed would I, said Alexander, if I were Parmenio. But he made answer to Darius that the earth could not tolerate two suns, nor Asia two kings. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. xxix. (681 F): Arrian, Anabasis, ii. 25; Diodorus, xvii. 54: Longinus, De sublimitate, ix. 4; Valerius Maximus, vi. 4, ext. 3.

[27.12] When he was about to risk everything at Arbela against a million men arrayed against him, his friends came to him and accused the soldiers of talking together and making agreements in their tents that they would hand over none of the spoil to the royal treasury, but would keep everything for themselves. And he smiling said, You bring good news; for I hear in this the talk of men prepared to conquer and not to flee. And many of the soldiers came to him and said, Be of good cheer, Sire, and do not fear the great numbers of the enemy; for they will not be able to stand the very smell of goat that clings to us.

[27.13] As the army was being drawn up for battle, he saw one of the soldiers fitting the thong to his javelin, and he shoved him out of the line as a useless man who was making ready at this time when he ought to be using his weapons.

[27.14] As he was reading a letter from his mother, which contained secret slanders against Antipater, Hephaestion, as usual, was reading it with him. Alexander did not prevent Hephaestion from reading it, but, when he had finished the reading, he took off his ring, and placed the seal on Hephaestion’s lips. Cf. Moralia, 332 F and 240 A, and Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. xxix. (688 A).

[27.15] In the shrine of Ammon he was hailed by the prophetic priest as the son of Zeus. That is nothing surprising, said he; for Zeus is by nature the father of all, and he makes the noblest his own. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. xxvii. (680 F).

[27.16] When he was hit in the leg by an arrow, and many of those who were oftentimes wont to hail him as a god hurried up to him, he, relaxing his countenance, said, This is blood, as you see, and not Ichor, like that which flows from the wounds of the blessed Immortals. The story is often repeated: cf. for example, Moralia, 341 B; Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, champ. xxviii. (681 B); Diogenes Laertius, ix. 60; Dio Chrysostom, Oration xliv. (p. 498); Seneca, Epistulae Moral. vi. 7. 12.

[27.17] When some commended the frugality of Antipater, who, they said, lived a plain and simple life, he remarked, Outwardly Antipater is plain white, but within he is all purple. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. xxix. (754 E).

[27.18] When one of his friends was entertaining him in the cold of winter, and brought in a small brazier with a little Are in it, Alexander bade him bring in either firewood or incense.

[27.19] When Antipatrides brought to dinner a beautiful harp-player, Alexander, stirred to love at the sight of her, asked Antipatrides whether he happened to be at all in love with the girl; and when he admitted that he was, Alexander said, You abominable wretch ! Please take her away from here at once.

[27.20] On another occasion Casander forced Python, beloved by Evius the flute-player, Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Eumenes, chap. ii. (583 D). to kiss him, and Alexander, seeing that Evius was vexed, leapt up in anger against Casander, exclaiming It isn’t allowable even to fall in love with anybody, because of you and people like you.

[27.21] When he was sending away to the sea those of the Macedonians who were sick or incapacitated, a man was reported to have put down his name in the list of the sick although there was nothing the matter with him. When therefore the man was brought before Alexander and examined, he admitted that he had employed this ruse because of love for Telesippa, who was departing for the sea; and Alexander asked, With whom must one talk concerning Telesippa ? And when he learned that she was not a slave, he said, Then let us, Antigenes, try to persuade Telesippa to stay with us; for to coerce her, a free woman, is not within our right. Cf. Moralia, 339 C, and Plutarch’s Lfe of Alexander, chap. xl. (689 B).

[27.22] When Greek mercenaries serving on the enemy’s side carne into his hands, he would order the Athenians among them to be kept in chains, because, while they could live at the expense of the State, they were serving as mercenaries, and so also the Thessalians, because, although they owned the very best land, they did not till it. But the Thebans he let go free, saying that these alone, because of us, have neither city nor land left to them.

[27.23] When he had taken captive the man who had the greatest repute for marksmanship among the Indians, of whom it was said that he could send an arrow through a finger-ring, Alexander bade him show his skill, and when he would not, the king in anger decreed his execution. The man, as he was being led away, said to those who were taking him that he had not practised for many days, and was afraid of failing; and when this came to the ears of Alexander, he marvelled and let the man go with many gifts because he preferred to suffer himself to be put to death rather than to show himself unworthy of his reputation.

[27.24] When Taxiles, king of the Indians, met Alexander, he charged him not to fight or make war, but, if he were inferior, to accept favours, and, if he were superior, to bestow them. To this Alexander replied that this was the very issue between them, to determine which could outdo the other in bestowing favours. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. lix. (698 B).

[27.25] When he was told concerning the Birdless Rock, Cf. Cunningham, Ancient Geography of India, i. pp. 58 ff. as it is called, in India, that the place was extremely difficult to capture, but that the man who held it was a coward, he said, In that case it is easy to capture. Cf. Plutarch’s, Life of Alexander, chap. lviii. (697 E); Arrian, Anabasis, iv. 28; Diodorus, xvii. 85; Quintus Curtius, Hist. Alexandri, viii. 11.

[27.26] When another man who held a seemingly impregnable rock surrendered himself together with his stronghold to Alexander, Alexander bade him to continue to rule, and gave him additional country to govern, saying that this person seems to me to show sense in trusting himself to a good man rather than to a strong place.

[27.27] After the capture of the rock his friends were saying that he had surpassed Heracles in his deeds, but he remarked, No, I do not feel that my deeds, with my position as commander, are to be weighed against one word of Heracles. Arrian, Anabasis, v. 26. 5, represents Alexander as boasting over the capture of the rock, which Heracles had failed to capture.

[27.28] Learning that in gambling with dice some of his friends did not enter into the game as a sport, he punished them.Alexander himself, when he was ill, spent the whole day in throwing dice with Medius, according to Plutarch, Life of Alexander, chap. lxxvi (706 D).

[27.29] Of his foremost and most influential friends he seems to have honoured Crateras most and to have loved Hephaestion best. For, said he, Crateras is fond of the king, but Hephaestion is fond of Alexander. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. xlvii. (691 F), and Diodorus, xvii. 114.

[27.30] He sent ten thousand pounds to Xenocrates the philosopher, but when Xenocrates would not accept them, and said he had no need of them, Alexander asked whether Xenocrates had not a single friend. For, in my case, said he, the wealth of Darius was hardly enough for my friends. Cf. Moralia, 331 E and 333 B, and Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. viii (668 E).

[27.31] Porus, after the battle, was asked by Alexander, How shall I treat you ? Like a king, said he. Asked again if there were nothing else, he said, Everything is included in those words. Marvelling at his sagacity and manliness, Alexander added to his kingdom more land than he had possessed before. Cf. Moralia, 332 E and 458 B; Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. lx. (699C); Arrian, Anabasis, v. 19. 2.

[27.32] Learning that he was being maligned by a certain man, he said, It is kingly to be ill spoken of for doing good. An oft- repeated aphorism; cf. for example, Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, chap. xli. (688 E); Pro Nobilitate, 19 (Bernardakis ed. vii. p. 268); Diogenes Laertius, vi. 3; Epictetus, Discourses, iv. 6; Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, vii. 36; Dio Chrysostom, Oration xlvii., last sentence.

[27.33] As he was dying, he said, looking towards his companions, I see that my funeral rites will be imposing. Cf. Arrian, Anabasis, vii. 26. 3; Diodorus, xvii. 117. 4; Quintus Curtius, Hist. Alexandri, x. 5. 5; Justinus, Historiae Phillippicae, xii. 15.

[27.34] When he had come to his end, Demades the orator said that the army of the Macedonians, because of its lack of leadership, looked like the Cyclops after his eye had been put out. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Galba, chap. i. (1053 C), which also gives Demades as the author; but in Moralia, 336 F, the saying is attributed to Leosthenes. Cf. also Demetrius Phalereus, De elocutione, 284.

Capítulo 28

[28.1] Ptolemy, son of Lagus, used, as a rule, to dine and sleep at his friends’ houses; and if ever he gave a dinner, he would send for their dishes and linen and tables, and use them for the occasion. He himself owned no more than were required for everyday use; and he used to say that it was more kingly to enrich than to be rich. Cf. Aelian, Varia Historia, xiii. 13.

Capítulo 29

[29.1] Antigonus was persistent in his demands for money, and when somebody said, But Alexander was not like this, he replied, Very naturally; for he reaped Asia, and I am picking up the straws.

[29.2] Seeing some of his soldiers playing ball in their breastplates and helmets, he was much pleased and sent for their officers, wishing to commend them. But when he heard that they were engaged in drinking, he gave their positions to their soldiers.

[29.3] When all were astonished because, after he had grown old, he handled matters with mildness and gentleness, he said, Time was when I craved power, but now I crave repute and goodwill among men.

[29.4] To his son Philip, who inquired in the presence of numerous persons, When are we going to break camp ? he said, What are you afraid of? That you alone may not hear the bugle ? Cf. Moralia, 506 C; Plutarch’s Life of Demetrius, chap. xxviii. (902 C), when the remark is addressed to Demetrius. That same remark is attributed to Crassus by Frontinus, Strategemata, i. 1. 13.

[29.5] When the young man was determined to take up his quarters at the house of a widow who had three handsome daughters, he called the quartermaster and said, Will you not get my son out of his crowded quarters ? Repeated by Plutarch in his Life of Demetrius, chap. xxiii. (899 C), and more fully by Frontinus, Strategemata, iv. 1. 10.

[29.6] He suffered a long illness, and when he had recovered his strength he said, ’twas nothing so very bad; for the illness has reminded us not to feel too proud, since we are but mortal Attributed to Alexander by Stobaeus, Florilegium, xxi. 15.

[29.7] When Hermodotus in his poems wrote of him as The Offspring of the Sun, he said, The slave who attends to my chamber-pot is not conscious of that! Cf. Moralia, 360 C.

[29.8] When somebody remarked that all things are honourable and righteous for kings, he said, Yes indeed, for kings of the barbarians; but for me only the honourable things are honourable and the righteous righteous.

[29.9] When Marsyas his brother had a lawsuit, and claimed the right to have the trial held at his house, Antigonus said, It shall be in the Forum and with everybody listening to see whether we do any injustice.

[29.10] Once upon a time in the winter when he had forced a halt in regions lacking provisions, and some of the soldiers were cursing him, not knowing that he was near, he poked open his tent with his stick, and said, You’ll be sorry if you don’t go farther off to curse me. Repeated in Moralia, 457 E, and Seneca, De Ira, iii. 22. 2.

[29.11] When Aristodemus, Possibly the son of Eutropion, Moralia, 11 A. one of his friends, who, it was whispered, was the son of a cook, advised him to curtail his expenditures and his giving of presents, he said, Aristodemus, your words have the stink of a kitchen apron.

[29.12] When the Athenians admitted to citizenship a slave of his, held in much esteem, and enrolled him as a free man, he said, I could wish that one Athenian had not been flogged by me !

[29.13] A young man, one of the pupils of Anaximenes the orator, pronounced before him a very carefully prepared oration, and he, wishing to gain some further information, asked a question. But when the young man relapsed into silence, he remarked, What is your answer ? Or Is this the content of the written page ? Euripides, Iphigeneia among the Taurians, 787.

[29.14] Hearing another orator say that the season had been snowy This could hardly refer (as some think) to the unseasonably cold weather in the spring (of 307 B.C.?) recorded in Plutarch’s Life of Demetrius, chap. xii. (894 C). and so had caused a lack of herbage in the land, he said, Please stop treating me as you treat a common crowd.

[29.15] When Thrasyllus the Cynic asked him for a shilling, he said That is not a fit gift for a king to give. And when Thrasyllus said, Then give me two hundred pounds, he retorted, But that is not a fit gift for a Cynic to receive. The story ist old more fully in Moralia, 551 E, and by Seneca, De beneficiis, ii. 17. 1.

[29.16] When he sent Demetrius his son, with many ships and forces, to make the Greeks a free people, he said that his repute, kindled in Greece as on a lofty height, would spread like beacon-fires through out the inhabited world. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Demetrius, chap. viii. (892 B), where the phraseology is slightly different.

[29.17] While Antagoras the poet was cooking a congereel, and was shaking the skillet with his own hand, Antigonus stepped up behind him and said, Antagoras, do you imagine that Homer cooked a conger while he was writing of the exploits of Agamemnon ? To which Antagoras retorted. And do you, Your Majesty, believe that Agamemnon, while he was performing those exploits, was overmuch concerned if anybody in the army cooked a conger ? Cf. Moralia, 668 C, and Athenaeus, 240 F, who quotes as his authority Hegesander.

[29.18] In a dream he saw Mithradates reaping a golden harvest, and thereupon planned to kill him. He told Demetrius his son, and bound him by an oath to silence. But Demetrius took Mithridates to walk with him beside the sea, and with the butt of his spear wrote in the sand, Flee, Mithridates. And Mithridates, understanding the purport, fled to Pontus and reigned there until his end. Plutarch tells the story at length in his Life of Demetrius, chap. iv. (890 C); cf. also Appian, Roman History, Mithridatic Wars, 9. Mithridates became the founder of the line of Pontic kings, which lasted until 63 B.C. when Mithridates VI. was conquered by Pompey.

Capítulo 30

[30.1] When Demetrius was besieging the Rhodians In 305-304 B.C. he seized in one of the suburbs a painting of the artist Protogenes in which he portrayed Ialysus. The Rhodians sent a herald to him and besought him to spare the painting. He replied that he would sooner destroy the statues and portraits of his father than that painting. The painting was seen by Cicero (Orator, 2 (5)) at Rhodes; later it was carried to Rome and placed in the temple of Peace (Pliny, Nat. Hist. xxxv. 36 (102)). And coming to terms with the Rhodians, he left his great siege-engine, the Citytaker, This engine is described by Diodorus, xx. 48, and Plutarch, Life of Demetrius, chap. xxi. (898 B). with them to serve as a token of his prowess and of their courage. The story is told by Plutarch in his Life of Demetrius, chap. xxii. (898 E); Pliny, Nat. Hist. xxxv. 36 (105); and Aulus Gellius, xv. 31.

[30.2] The Athenians revolted, and when he had taken their city, which was already in serious straits from lack of food, an assembly of the people was immediof grain. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Demetrius, chap. xxxiv. (905 B).In speaking about this before them he lapsed into a barbarism. One of those sitting there repeated the phrase as it should have been spoken, and he said, For this correction, then, I give you eight thousand bushels more.

Capítulo 31

[31.1] When Demetrius, the father of Antigonus the Second, had been taken captive, he sent one of his friends and urged Antigonus to pay no attention if he should write anything under compulsion of Seleucus, and not to withdraw from the cities; but Antigonus of his own accord wrote to Seleucus resigning to him his whole kingdom and offering to surrender himself as a hostage on condition that his father Demetrius be released. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Demetrius, chap. li. (914 D).

[31.2] When Antigonus was about to engage in a naval battle against Ptolemy’s generals, the pilot said that the ships of the enemy far outnumbered their own. But, said Antigonus, how many ships do you think my own presence here is equivalent to ? Cf. Moralia, 545 B, and Plutarch’s Life of Pelopidas, chap. ii. (278 D), both showing variation in wording and details; also Athenaeus, 209 E, and Gulick’s note in the L.C.L., vol. ii. p. 447.

[31.3] Once when he was withdrawing before the advance of the enemy, he said that he was not fleeing, but was following up his advantage, which lay in the rear.

[31.4] When a young man, son of a brave father, but not himself having any reputation for being a good soldier, suggested the propriety of his receiving his father’s emoluments, Antigonus said, My boy, I give pay and presents for the excellence of a man, not for the excellence of his father.

[31.5] When Zeno of Citium died, whom he admired most among the philosophers, he said that the audience to hear of his exploits had been taken away. Cf. Diogenes Laertius, vii. 15.

Capítulo 32

[32.1] Lysimachus was overpowered by Dromichaetas in Thrace, and because of thirst surrendered himself and his army In 292 B.C.; and when he drank after he had been made a prisoner, he said, My God, for what a little pleasure have I made myself a slave from being a king ! The story is repeated with slight variations in Moralia, 126 E and 555 D; the capture of Lysimachus is recorded in Plutarch’s Life of Demetrius, chap. xxxix. (908 B); Polyaenus, Strategemata, vii. 25; Diodorus, xxi. 12.

[32.2] To Philippides the comic poet who was his friend and intimate he said, What of mine shall I share with you ? And the other replied, What you will, except your secrets. Repeated with slight variations in Moralia, 508 C and 517 B.

Capítulo 33

[33.1] Antipater, hearing of the death of Parmenio at the hands of Alexander, said, If Parmenio plotted against Alexander, who is to be trusted ? And if he did not, what is to be done ?

[33.2] Of Demades the orator, who had already become an old man, he said that he was like an animal which had been eaten at a sacrificial feast; there was left only the belly and the tongue. Cf. Moralia, 525 C and Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. i. (741 E). Pytheas (quoted in Athenaeus, 44 F) speaks of Demades’ protruding belly and ranting tongue.

Capítulo 34

[34.1] Antiochus the Third wrote to the cities that, if he should write ordering anything to be done contrary to the laws, they should pay no attention, assuming that he had acted in ignorance.

[34.2] Seeing the priestess of Artemis surpassingly beautiful in her appearance, he straightway marched forth from Ephesus, In 196 B.C., presumably, when he wintered in Ephesus (Livy, xxxiii. 38). for fear that even against his determination he might be constrained to commit some unholy act.

Capítulo 35

[35.1] Antiochus who was nicknamed the Hawk was warring against his brother Seleucus for the kingdom. In 246 B.C. But when Seleucus, vanquished by the Galatians, could nowhere be found, but, to all appearances, had been cut down in battle, Antiochus laid aside his purple and assumed a dark robe. But after a little time, learning that his brother was safe and sound, he offered sacrifices to the gods to celebrate the good tidings, and made the people in the cities under him to wear garlands. Cf. Moralia, 489 A.

Capítulo 36

[36.1] Eumenes, plotted against by Perseus, was reputed to be dead. When the story was brought to Pergamum, Attalus his brother put on the crown, married his wife, and assumed the rule. But upon learning that his brother was approaching alive, he went to meet him, attended, as was his wont, by his bodyguards, and holding a short spear. Eumenes greeted him kindly and whispered in his ear, —ldquo;Haste not to marry ere you see him dead,—rdquo; Apparently a parody of a line of Sophocles adapted to fit the situation (μήπω μέγ᾽εἴπης, κλτ.). See Nauck, Trag. Graec. Frag., Sophocles, No. 601. and neither said nor did anything else during his whole lifetime to arouse suspicion, but when he died he left to Attalus his wife and his kingdom. As a requital, Attalus reared no child of his own, although many were born, but while still living he transferred the kingdom to Eumenes’ son when the boy became of age. The story is told also in Moralia, 489 E. Cf. also W.S. Ferguson, The Premature Deification of Eumenes II., in Classical Philology, i. p. 231.

Capítulo 37

[37.1] The sons of Pyrrhus, when they were children asked their father to whom he intended to leave the kingdom; and he said, To that one of you who keeps his sword sharper. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus, chap. ix. (388 A).

[37.2] Being asked whether Python or Caphisias were the better flute-player he said, Polysperchon is the better general. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus, chap. viii. (387 D).

[37.3] When he was twice victorious in conflict with the Romans, but lost many of his friends and commanders, he said, If we are victorious over the Romans in one more battle, we are lost! The details may be found ibid. chap. xxii. (397 B). The Pyrrhic victory is like the Cadmean victory, Moralia, 10 A.

[37.4] As he was sailing away from Sicily after his failure there, In 276 B.C. he turned to look back, and said to his friends, What a field of conflict are we leaving behind us for the Romans and Carthaginians to wrestle in! Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus, chap. xxiii. (398 F).

[37.5] When the soldiers addressed him as Eagle, he said, Why not an eagle, when I am borne aloft on the swift wings of your weapons ? Ibid. chap. x. (388 B).

[37.6] Hearing that some young men had made many defamatory remarks about him while in their cups, he ordered that they should all be brought before him the next day. When they were brought, he asked the first whether they had said these things about him. And the young man replied, Yes, Your Majesty; and we should have said more than that if we had had more wine. Told with more details by Plutarch in his Life of Pyrrhus, chap. viii. (387 F), and Valerius Maximus, v. 1. ext. 3. Cf. also Quintilian, vi. 3. 10.

Capítulo 38

[38.1] Antiochus, who made his next The first campaign was against Jerusalem in 133 B.C. campaign against the Parthians, in a hunt and chase wandered away from his friends and servants, and unrecognized entered the hut of some poor people. At dinner he brought in the subject of the king, and heard that, in general, he was a decent man, but that he entrusted most matters to friends who were scurvy fellows, and overlooked and often disregarded matters that were imperative through being too fond of hunting. At the time he said nothing; but at daybreak some of his bodyguards arrived at the hut, and his identity was disclosed when the purple and the crown were brought to him. Howbeit, said he, since the day when I donned you, yesterday was the first time that I heard true words about myself.

[38.2] The Jews, when he was besieging Jerusalem, asked for an armistice of seven days for their most important festival, and he not only granted this, but he also made ready bulls with gilded horns, and a great quantity of incense and spices, and brought all these in solemn procession as far as the gates. Then, having transferred the offering to the hands of their priests, he returned to his camp. The Jews were amazed, and immediately after the festival placed themselves in his hands.The same facts are narrated by Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, xiii. 8. 2.

Capítulo 39

[39.1] Themistocles while yet in his youth abandoned himself to wine and women. Cf. Moralia, 552 B; Athenaeus, pp. 533 D and 576 C. But after Miltiades, commanding the Athenian army, had overcome the barbarians at Marathon, never again was it possible to encounter Themistocles misconducting himself. To those who expressed their amazement at the change in him, he said that the trophy of Miltiades does not allow me to sleep or to be indolent. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. iii. (113 B); Moralia, 84 B, 92 C, 800 B; Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, iv. 19 (44): and Valerius Maximus, viii. 14, ext. 1.

[39.2] Being asked whether he would rather have been Achilles or Homer, he said, How about you yourself ? Would you rather be the victor at the Olympic games or the announcer of the victor ? The remark is attributed to Alexander by Dio Chrysostom, Oration, ii. (22 M., 79 R.).

[39.3] When Xerxes was descending upon Greece with his mighty armament, Themistocles was afraid of Epicydes the popular leader, unscrupulous and cowardly, lest possibly he might, by being elected general, bring about the ruin of the State; and so he bribed Epicydes to withdraw from his attempt to gain the command. The story is told more fully in Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. vi. (114 D).

[39.4] When Adeimantus lacked the courage to risk a naval battle, and said to Themistocles, who was exhorting and urging on the Greeks, Themistocles, in the games they always scourge the runners who start before the signal is given, Themistocles replied, Yes, Adeimantus, but they do not crown those who are left behind in the race. Adeimantus is the speaker here, as in Herodotus, viii. 59; but in Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xi. (117 D), the remark is attributed not to the Corinthian Adeimantus, but to Eurybiades the Spartan, who was in command of the fleet.

[39.5] When Eurybiades lifted his cane as though to strike him, he said, Strike but listen. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xi. (117 E); Aelian, Varia Historia, xiii. 40; Diogenes Laertius, vi. 21.

[39.6] Unable to persuade Eurybiades to engage the enemy’s ships in the narrows, he sent a secret message to the barbarian telling him not to be afraid of the Greeks, who were running away. And when the barbarian, by taking this advice, was vanquished in the battle because he fought where the Greeks had the advantage, Themistocles again sent a message to him, bidding him flee to the Hellespont by the speediest route, since the Greeks were minded to destroy the bridge. In this his purpose was, while saving the Greeks, to give the king the impression that he was saving him. The details may be found in Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chaps. xiii.-xvi. (118 B-120 C). The story comes from Herodotus, viii. 75 and 110. Cf. also Polyaenus, Strategemata, i. 30. 3 and 4.

[39.7] When the man from Seriphus said to him that it was not because of himself but because of his country that he was famous, Themistocles remarked, What you say is true enough; but if I were from Seriphus, I should not have become famous, nor would you if you were from Athens. In almost the same words in Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xviii. (121 B), but the story goes back to Herodotus, viii. 125, where Timodemus is the speaker, and Themistocles names the island of Belbina. The man from Seriphus is found first in Plato, Republic, 329 E and persists thereafter, as in Plutarch and in Cicero, De senectute, 3 (8), and in Origen, Against Celsus, i. 29 (347 E).

[39.8] Antiphates, the handsome youth of whom Themistocles was enamoured, avoided him in the earlier days, and looked down upon him, but, after Themistocles had acquired great repute and power, kept coming to him and trying to flatter him. My boy, said Themistocles, it has taken time, but now we have both come to have sense. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xviii. (121 A).

[39.9] To Simonides, who petitioned for a legal decision which was not just, he said that Simonides would not be a good poet if he sang out of tune, nor should he himself be a useful official if he gave a decision out of tune with the law. Cf. Moralia, 534 E and 807 B.

[39.10] Of his son, who was pert towards his mother, he said that the boy wielded more power than anybody else in Greece; for the Athenians ruled the Greeks, he himself ruled the Athenians, the boy’s mother ruled himself, and the boy ruled the mother. Cf. Moralia, 1 C; Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xviii. (121 B); and Life of Cato Major, chap. viii. (340 B).

[39.11] Of the suitors for his daughter’s hand he esteemed the man of promise higher than the man of wealth, saying that he was looking for a man that was in need of money rather than for money that was in need of a man. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xviii. (121 c); Cicero, De officiis, ii. 20 (71); Valerius Maximus, vii. 2, ext. 9. A somewhat similar remark is attributed to Pericles by Stobaeus, Florilegium, lxx. 17, and to a Spartan (on the authority of Serenus), lxxii. 15.

[39.12] When he offered a plot of land for sale, he ordered the announcement to be made that it also had a good neighbour. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xviii. (121 C).

[39.13] When the Athenians treated him with contumely, he said, Why do you grow tired of being well served many times by the same men ? He also likened himself to the plane-trees, beneath which men hasten when overtaken by a storm, but, when fair weather comes, they pluck the leaves as they pass by and break off the branches. Life of Themistocles, chap. xviii. (121 A), and chap. xxii. (123 A); Cf. also Aelian, Varia Historia, ix. 18.

[39.14] The Eretrians, he said humorously, were like cuttle-fish in having a sword The bone of the cuttle-fish; Cf. Aristotle, Historia Animalium, iv. 1. 12. but no heart. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xi. (118 A).

[39.15] After his banishment from Athens first, and later from Greece, he went to the Persian king, and, when he was bidden to speak, he said that speech is like rugs woven with patterns and figures; for speech, like the rugs, when it is extended, displays its figures, but, when it is rolled into a small compass, it conceals and spoils them.

[39.16] He asked for time so that, when he should have learned the Persian tongue, he might conduct his interview through his own self and not through another. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xxix. (126 C); Thucydides, i. 137.

[39.17] Being held deserving of many gifts, and speedily becoming rich, Cf. ibid. i. 138. he said to his sons, Boys, we should be ruined now if we had not been ruined before! Cf. Moralia, 328 F and 602 A; Plutarch’s Life of Themistocles, chap. xxix. (p. 126 F); Polybius, xxxix. 11 (-xl. 5).

Capítulo 40

[40.1] Myronides, conducting a campaign against the Boeotians, gave orders to the Athenians for an invasion of the enemy’s territory. When the hour was near, and the captains said that not all were present as yet, he said, All are present that intend to fight. And, leading them into battle before their ardour had cooled, he won a victory over the enemy. At Oenophyta in Boeotia, 457 (?) B.C. (Thucydides, i. 108). Cf. also Moralia, 345 D; Diodorus, xi. 31. A simliar remark is attributed to Leonidas by Plutarch, Moralia, 225 D, and to Timotheus by Polyaenus, Strategemata, iii. 10. 3.

Capítulo 41

[41.1] Aristeides the Just was always an independent in politics, and avoided political parties, on the ground that influence derived from friends encourages wrongdoing. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aristeides, chap. ii. (319 F).

[41.2] At one time when the Athenians had impetuously determined to vote on ostracism, an ignorant country fellow, holding his potsherd, approached him and bade him write on it the name of Aristeides. Why, said he, do you know Aristeides ? And when the man said that he did not know him, but was irritated at his being called the Just, Aristeides said never a word more, but wrote the name on the potsherd, and gave it back to him. Cf. Plutarch’s, Life of Aristeides, chap. vii (323 A); Cornelius Nepos, Aristeides, i. 3.

[41.3] He was hostile to Themistocles, Herodotus, viii. 79; Plutarch’s Life of Aristeides, chap. viii. (323 C). and once, when he was sent as ambassador in his company, he said, Are you willing, Themistocles, that we should leave our hostility behind us at the boundaries ? And then, if it be agreeable, we will take it up again on our return. Cf. Moralia 809 B; Polyaenus, Strategemata, i. 31; and the following (from a newspaper in 1929): Paying a tribute to Senator Robinson, the Democratic member of the conference delegation, Senator Reed said: I can say for him that when his ship sails from New York he quits being a Democrat, just as I quit becoming a Republican, leaving politics behind us at the American shore.

[41.4] When he had fixed the contributions that the Greeks were to pay, he returned poorer by exactly as much as he spent on his journey.In 478-477 B.C. Aristeides, because of his reputation for fairness, was chosen to determine the initial contribution which each member of the confederacy of Delos should make to the common cause. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aristeides, chap. xxiv. (333 C); Aelian, Varia Historia, xi. 9.

[41.5] Aeschylus Aeschylus, Seven against Thebes, 592; Plutarch quotes the lines also in whole or in part in Moralia, 32 D, and 88 B, and Life of Aristeides, chap. iii. (320 B). wrote referring to Amphiaraus, His wish is not to seem, but be, the best,On account of the reading δίκαιος in the Life of Aristeides it has been thought that the actor who spoke the words may have substituted the Just for the best when he saw Aristeides in the audience. Reaping the deep-sown furrow of his mind In which all goodly counsels have their root. And as these words were spoken all looked towards Aristeides.

Capítulo 42

[42.1] Whenever Pericles was about to take command of the army, as he was donning his general’s cloak, he used to say to himself, Take care, Pericles; you are about to command free-born men who are both Greeks and Athenians. Cf. Moralia, 620 C and 813 D.

[42.2] He bade the Athenians remove Aegina, that sore on the eye of the Piraeus. Ibid. 803 A; Plutarch’s Life of Pericles, chap. viii. (156 D) and Life of Demosthenes, chap. i. (846 C): Aristotle, Rhetoric, iii. 10. Athenaeus (99 D) attributes the expression to Demades, an Athenian orator. The people of Aegina, who were Dorian, had been hostile towards the Athenians even before the Persian wars, and in the early years of the Peloponnesian war (431 B.C.) they were forcibly removed from the island by the Athenians.

[42.3] To a friend who wanted him to bear false witness, which included also an oath, he answered that he was a friend as far as the altar. Cf. Moralia, 531 C and 808 A, and Aulus Gellius, i. 3.

[42.4] On his death-bed he accounted himself happy in that no Athenian, because of him, had ever put on a black garment.Given with more details in Moralia, 543 C, and Plutarch’s Life of Pericles, chap. xxxviii. (173 c), and Julian, Oration iii. 128 D.

Capítulo 43

[43.1] Alcibiades, while still a boy, was caught in a fast hold in a wrestling-school, and, not being able to get away, he bit the arm of the boy who had him down. The other boy said, You bite like a woman. No indeed, said Alcibiades, but like a lion. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades chap. i. (192 C). The same story is told of a Spartan in Moralia, 234 E.

[43.2] He owned a very beautiful dog, for which he had paid two hundred and seventy-five pounds, and he cut off its tail, so that, as he said, the Athenians may tell this about me, and may not concern themselves too much with anything else. In quite different words in Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades, chap. ix. (195 D).

[43.3] Coming upon a schoolroom, he asked for a book of the Iliad, and when the teacher said that he had nothing of Homer’s, Alcibiades hit him a blow with his fist and passed on. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades, chap. vii. (194 D), and Aelian, Varia Historia, xiii. 38.

[43.4] He came to Pericles’ door, and upon learning that Pericles was not at liberty, but was considering how to render his accounting to the Athenians, he said, Were it not better that he should consider how not to render it ? Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades, chap. vii. (194 E); Diodorus, xii. 38; Valerius Maximus, iii. 1, ext. 1.

[43.5] Summoned from Sicily by the Athenians to be tried for his life, he went into hiding, saying that it is silly for a man under indictment to seek a way to get off when he can get away. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades, chap. xxi. (202 C); Aelian, Varia Historia, xiii. 38.

[43.6] When somebody said, Don’t you trust your fatherland to decide about you ?he replied, Not I; nor would I trust even my mother, lest in a moment of thoughtlessness she unwittingly cast a black ballot instead of a white one. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades, chap. xxii. (202 D) and Aelian, xiii. 38.

[43.7] Hearing that sentence of death had been passed upon him and his companions, he said, Let us show them, then, that we are alive, and turning to the Spartan side he started the Decelean war against the Athenians. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades, chap. xxii. (202 D) and Aelian, xiii. 38; cf. also Polyaenus, Strategemata, i. 40. 6.

Capítulo 44

[44.1] Lamachus reprimanded one of his captains who had made a mistake, and when the man vowed he would never do it again, Lamachus said, In war there is no room for two mistakes.

Capítulo 45

[45.1] Iphicrates, who was reputed to be the son of a shoemaker, was looked down upon. The first occasion on which he won repute was when, wounded himself, he picked up one of the enemy alive, armour and all, and bore him to his own trireme.

[45.2] Encamping in a friendly and allied country, he threw up a palisade and dug a ditch with all care, and to the man who said, What have we to fear ? he replied that the worst words a general could utter were the familiar I never should have thought it. Cf. Polyaenus, Strategemata, iii. 9. 17. The saying is attributed to Scipio Africanus by Valerius Maximus, vii. 2, and to Fabius by Seneca, De ira, ii. 31. 4. Cicero, De officiis, i. 23 (81) states it as a general maxim.

[45.3] As he was disposing his army for battle against the barbarians he said he feared that they did not know the name of Iphicrates with which he was wont to strike terror to the hearts of his other foes. Cf. Polyaenus, Strategemata, iii. 9. 25.

[45.4] When he was put on trial for his life Together with Timotheus, for thinking it best not to fight at the Hellespont in 256 B.C. (Diodorus, xvi. 21). he said to the informer, What are you trying to do, fellow ? At a time when war is all around us, you are persuading the State to deliberate about me instead of with me.

[45.5] In reply to Harmodius, descendant of the Harmodius of early days, who twitted him about his lowly birth, he said, My family history begins with me, but yours ends with you. Cf. De nobilitate, 21, in Moralia, vol. vii. p. 272 of Bernardakis’s edition.

[45.6] A certain speaker interrogated him in the Assembly: Who are you that you are so proud? Are you cavalryman or man-at-arms or archer or targeteer ? None of these, he replied, but the one who understands how to direct all of them. The story is found also in Moralia, 99 E and 440 B.

Capítulo 46

[46.1] Timotheus was popularly thought to be a lucky general, and some who were jealous of him painted pictures of cities entering into a trap of their own accord while he was asleep. Of the many repetitions of this story it may suffice to refer to Plutarch’s Life of Sulla, chap. vi. (454 B); Moralia, 856 B; Aelian, Varia Historia, xiii. 43. Whereupon Timotheus said, If I capture such cities as those while I am asleep, what do you think I shall do when I am awake ?

[46.2] When one Chares, according to Plutarch in his Life of Pelopidas, chap. ii. (278 D). of the foolhardy generals was exhibiting to the Athenians a wound he had received, Timotheus said, But I was ashamed when, at the time I was commanding, you in Samos, In 366 B.C. a missile from a catapult fell near me.

[46.3] When the prominent speakers brought forward Chares, and insisted that the general of the Athenians ought to be a man like him, Timotheus said, Not the general, but the man who carries the general’s bedding! Cf. Moralia, 788 D.

Capítulo 47

[47.1] Chabrias used to say that those men commanded an army best who best knew what the enemy were about.

[47.2] When he was under indictment for treason along with Iphicrates, With Callistratus, rather than Iphicrates, in the year 366 B.C. Cf. Demosthenes, Against Meidias, 65. Iphicrates rebuked him because, while he was in jeopardy, he went to the gymnasium, and spent the usual time at his luncheon. His answer was, You may go unwashed and unfed, and I may have had my luncheon and a bath and rub-down, but you may rest assured that, if the Athenians reach any adverse decision regarding us, they will put us both to death.

[47.3] He was wont to say that an army of deer commanded by a lion is more to be feared than an army of lions commanded by a deer. Ascribed to Philip by Stobaeus, Florilegium, liv. 61.

Capítulo 48

[48.1] Hegesippus, nicknamed Topknot, Because of his affectation in wearing his hair in a knot on the top of his head, in the very old-fashioned manner. Aeschines the orator regularly uses this name in speaking of him. For the crobylus see F. Studniczka, in the Appendix to Classen’s edition of Thucydides, i. 6. 3. in a public address was inciting the Athenians against Philip, when someone in the Assembly commented audibly, You are bringing on war. Yes, by Heaven, I am, said he, and black clothes and public funerals and orations over the graves of the dead, if we intend to live as free men, and not to do what is enjoined upon us by the Macedonians.

Capítulo 49

[49.1] Pytheas, while still young, came forward in the Assembly to oppose the resolutions proposed in honour of Alexander. When someone said, Have you the audacity, young as you are, to speak about such important matters ? he replied, As a matter of fact, Alexander, whom your resolutions declare to be a god, is younger than I am. Cf. Moralia, 804 B. Similar derisive remarks about the deification of Alexander are attributed to other sharp-tongued Greeks. Cf. Diogenes Laertius, vi. 8 and vi. 63; Aelian, Varia Historia, ii. 19 and v. 12; Valerius Maximus, vii. 2, ext. 13.

Capítulo 50

[50.1] Phocion the Athenian was never seen by anyone to laugh or cry. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. iv. (743 D).

[50.2] At a meeting of the Assembly someone said to him, You seem to be thinking, Phocion. You guessed right, said he, for I am thinking whether I can leave out any part of what I am going to say to the Athenians. Ibid. chap. v. (744 A).

[50.3] An oracle was given to the Athenians declaring that there was one man in the city opposed to the opinions of all, whereupon they ordered that search be made to find him, and were very vociferous. But Phocion said that the man was himself, for he was the only one who did not like a single thing of all that the multitude did and said. Ibid. chap. viii. (745 C).

[50.4] Once, when he expressed an opinion before the people, he won acclaim, and saw that all alike accepted the view he had expressed, whereupon he turned to his friends and said- Does it not look as if I had unwittingly said something bad ? Ibid. Cf similar remarks of Antisthenes, in Diogenes Laertius, vi. 5 and 8; and of Hippomachus, in Aelian, Varia Historia, ii. 6.

[50.5] When the Athenians were asking for contributions towards a public sacrifice and feast, and all the rest were contributing, he, being importuned to give, said, I should be ashamed to make a contribution to you and not make restitution to this man, and, as he said this, he pointed to a man who had lent him money. Repeated in Moralia, 533 A and 822 E, and in Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. ix. (745 C).

[50.6] Demosthenes, the orator, said to him, The Athenians will put you to death if they go mad. Yes, he replied, me if they go mad, but you if they keep their senses, Ibid. chap. ix. (745 F). In Moralia, 811 A, Demades is substituted for Demosthenes.

[50.7] Aristogeiton, the informer, was about to be put to death in prison, sentence having been passed upon him, and he wanted Phocion to come to him; but Phocion’s friends were averse to his going to see such a wicked man. And where, said he, could anyone converse with Aristogeiton with greater pleasure ? Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. x. (746 E).

[50.8] The Athenians were enraged at the people of Byzantium because they had not received Chares in their city when he had been sent with a force to help them against Philip. But when Phocion said that they must not be enraged at those of their allies who distrusted, but at those of their own generals who were distrusted, he was himself chosen general; and he, being trusted by the people of Byzantium, made Philip withdraw without accomplishing his purpose. Ibid. chap. xiv. (748 A); the date was 339 B.C.

[50.9] When Alexander the king sent him twenty thousand pounds as a present, he asked those who brought the money why it was that, when there were so many Athenians, Alexander offered this to him only. They replied that their king considered him only to be upright and honourable. Then, said he, let him suffer me both to seem and to be such. Ibid. chap. xviii. (749 E); cf. also Aelian, Varia Historia, xi. 9.

[50.10] When Alexander made a demand for triremes, and the people called for Phocion by name to come forward and advise them, he arose and said, Well then, I advise you either to be conquerors yourselves by force of arms, or else to be the friends of the conquerors. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. xxi. (751 A).

[50.11] When word suddenly came, quite unauthenticated, of the death of Alexander, and the orators immediately leaped to the platform, already urgent that there be no delay, but war at once, Phocion insisted that they wait a while, and learn the facts. For, said he, if Alexander is dead to-day, he will be dead to-morrow also, and the day after. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. xxii. (751 E), also Moralia, 451 F.

[50.12] When Leosthenes plunged the State into war, elated as it was by brilliant hopes to aspire to the distinction of freedom and leadership, Phocion likened his words to the cypress - trees. For, said he, they are beautiful and tall, but they bear no fruit. However, the first attempts were successful, and, when the State was offering sacrifices to celebrate the good tidings, Phocion was asked whether he wished that these deeds had been done by himself. Yes, said he, these deeds done, but that advice given. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. xxiii. (752 A B); Valerius Maximus, iii. 8, ext. 2.

[50.13] When the Macedonians invaded Attica, In the Lamian war, 322 B.C. and were devastating the land near the sea, he led out the men of military age. Soon many were thronging about him and strongly urging him to take possession of that hill over there, to draw up his forces here. Great Heavens, he said, how many generals do I see and how few soldiers ! Nevertheless, he engaged the enemy, and overcame them, and slew Micion the Macedonian commander. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. xxv. (752 E).

[50.14] After a little time the Athenians were overcome in the war, and compelled by Antipater to submit to receiving a garrison. Menyllus, the commander of the garrison, offered money to Phocion, who said with indignation that Menyllus was no whit better than Alexander, and the ground for his receiving money was not so good as before, since he had not accepted it then. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. xxviii. (754 A), and chap. xxx. (755 A).

[50.15] Antipater said that he had two good friends at Athens; and of the two he had never persuaded Phocion to accept a gift, nor ever sated Demades by giving. Ibid. chap. xxx. (p. 755 B).

[50.16] When Antipater required as his right that Phocion do a certain act of unrighteousness, he said, Antipater, you cannot use Phocion as a friend and flatterer both. Repeated by Plutarch in Moralia, 64 C, 142 B, 533 A; Life of Phocion, chap. xxx. (755 B); Life of Agis, chap. ii. (795 E).

[50.17] The death of Antipater was followed by a democratic government at Athens, and sentence of death was passed in Assembly on Phocion and his friends. The others were led away weeping, but Phocion was proceeding in silence when one of his enemies met him and spat in his face. He looked toward the officers and said, Will not somebody make this man stop his bad manners ? Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. xxxvi. (758 D).

[50.18] When one of the men who were to die with him wept and cursed, he said, Are you not content, Thudippus, that you are to die with Phocion ? Ibid.; cf. 541 C, and Aelian, Varia Historia, xiii. 41.

[50.19] When the cup of hemlock was already being handed to him, he was asked if he had any message for his son. I charge and exhort him, said he, not to cherish any ill feeling against the Athenians. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Phocion, chap. xxxvi. (758 D); Aelian, Varia Historia, xii. 49.

Capítulo 51

[51.1] Peisistratus, the despot of the Athenians, on a time when some of his friends had revolted and taken possession of Phyle, came to them carrying a bundle of bedding. When they asked what he meant by this, he said, To persuade you and get you away from here, or, if I cannot persuade you, to stay with you; that is why I have come prepared.

[51.2] It was whispered to him regarding his mother that she was in love with a certain young man, and had secret meetings with him, but that the young man was afraid and generally asked to be excused. Whereupon Peisistratus invited him to dinner, and after he had dined asked him, How was it ? And when the young man said, Very pleasant, Peisistratus said, You shall have this pleasure every day if you are agreeable to my mother.

[51.3] When Thrasybulus, who was in love with the daughter of Peisistratus, kissed her one day on meeting her, Peisistratus, when incited by his wife against the man, said, If we hate them that love us, what shall we do to them that hate us ? And thereupon he gave the maiden as wife to Thrasybulus. Cf. Valerius Maximus, v. 1, ext. 2. Plutarch also refers to the incident in Moralia, 457 F.

[51.4] Some revellers fell in with his wife, and did and said a good many ribald things. The next day when they besought Peisistratus with many tears, he said, As for you, do you try to conduct yourselves in a seemly manner hereafter, but as for my wife, she did not go out at all yesterday. Musonius in Stobaeus, Florilegium, xix. 16, records a similar action on the part of Phocion.

[51.5] When he was bent on marrying a second wife, his children inquired whether he had any fault to find with them. By no means, he said, but only praise—and the desire to have other children like you. Cf. Moralia, 480 D. Plutarch in his Life of Cato Major, chap. xxiv. (351 B), says that Cato as well as Peisistratus made his remark.

Capítulo 52

[52.1] Demetrius of Phalerum recommended to Ptolemy the king to buy and read the books dealing with the office of king and ruler. For, as he said, those things which the kings’ friends are not bold enough to recommend to them are written in the books.

Capítulo 53

[53.1] Lycurgus, the Spartan, introduced the custom among his citizens of wearing their hair long, saying that it made the beautiful more comely and the ugly more frightful. Cf. Moralia, 228 F, infra, Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xxii. (53 D) and Life of Lysander, chap. i. (434 A). The Spartan custom of wearing the hair long is often referred to; for example Moralia, 189 F and 230 B, infra, Xenophon, Constitution of Sparta, xi. 3.

[53.2] To the man who urged him to create a democracy in the State his answer was, Do you first create a democracy in your own house. Repeated in Moralia, 155 D, 22 D, and Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xix. (52 A).

[53.3] He ordered that the people build their houses with saw and axe only; for he knew that men are ashamed to bring into simple houses costly vessels, rugs, and tables. Cf. Moralia, 227 B, infra, and Life of Lycurgus, chap. xiii. (47 B).

[53.4] He prohibited boxing and prize-fighting so that the people might not even in sport get the habit of crying off. See Moralia, 228 D, infra, and cf. Life of Lycurgus, chap. xix. (52 A), and Seneca, De Beneficiis, v. 3.

[53.5] He prohibited making war upon the same people many times, so that they should not make their opponents too belligerent. And it is a fact that years later, when Agesilaus was wounded, Antalcidas said of him that he was getting a beautiful return from the Thebans for the lessons he had taught them in habituating and teaching them to make war against their will. Cf. Moralia, 213 F, 217 E, 227 C, infra; Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xiii. (47 D); Life of Pelopidas, chap. xv. (285 D); Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxvi. (610 D); Polyaenus, Strategemata, i. 16. 2.

Capítulo 54

[54.1] Charillus the king, being asked why Lycurgus enacted so few laws, replied that people who used few words had no need of many laws. Cf. Moralia, 232 B, infra, and Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xx. (52 D).

[54.2] When one of the helots conducted himself rather boldly towards him, he said, By Heaven, I would kill you if I were not angry. Cf. Moralia, 232 D, infra.

[54.3] In answer to the man who inquired why he and the rest wore their hair long, he said that of all ornaments this was the least expensive. Attributed to Nicander, Moralia, 230 B, and to Agesilaus by Stobaeus, Florilegium, lxv. 10.

Capítulo 55

[55.1] Teleclus the king answered his brother, who complained against the citizens because they conducted themselves with less consideration towards him than towards the king, by saying, The reason is that you do not know how to submit to injustice. Repeated in Moralia, 232 B, infra; cf. also the similar remark of Chilon reported in Diogenes Laertius, i. 68, and the general statement in Menander’s Farmer, Kock, Com. Att. Frag. iii. p. 29, Menander no. 95; or Allinson’s Menander in L.C.L., p. 338.

Capítulo 56

[56.1] When Theopompus was in a certain city, a man pointed out the wall to him and inquired if it seemed to him to be beautiful and high, and he replied, It isn’t a dwelling-place for women, is it ? Cf. Moralia, 221 F. The remark in varied form is attributed to Agesilaus in Moralia, 212 E; to Agis in Moralia, 215 D; and to Panthoidas in Moralia, 230 C; and to an unnamed Spartan by Valerius Maximus, iii. 7, ext. 8.

Capítulo 57

[57.1] When the allies said in the Peloponnesian war it was only right that Archidamus set a limit to their contributions, he said, War does not feed on fixed rations. Repeated in Moralia, 219 A, and in Plutarch’s Life of Crassus, chap. ii. (544 B); and Life of Cleomenes, chap. xxvii. (817 E). In his Life of Demosthenes, chap. xvii. (853 E), the saying is put in the mouth of Crobylus (i.e. Hegisippus the Athenian orator). See the note on Moralia, 187 E, supra.

Capítulo 58

[58.1] Brasidas caught a mouse among some dry figs, and, getting bitten, let it go. Then, turning to those who were present, he said, There is nothing so small that it cannot save its life, if it has the courage to defend itself against those who would lay hand on it. Repeated in Moralia, 79 E and 219 C, and with some variation, 208 F.

[58.2] In a battle he was wounded by a spear which pierced his shield, and, pulling the weapon out of the wound, with this very spear he slew his foe. Asked how he got his wound, he said, ’twas when my shield turned traitor. Cf. Moralia, 219 C, infra, and 548 B.

[58.3] When it came to pass that he fell while trying to win independence for the Greeks who were living within the borders of Thrace, and the envoys sent to Sparta approached his mother,Argileonis (Moralia, 219 D, 270 C, infra). her first question was whether Brasidas had died honourably. And when the Thracians spoke of him in the highest terms, and said that there would never be another like him, she said, Ye ken naught aboot it, being from abraid; for Brasidas was e’en a guid mon, but Sparta has mony a better mon than him. Repeated in Moralia, 219 D and 240 C, and in Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xxv. (55 D).

Capítulo 59

[59.1] Agis the king said that the Spartans do not ask how many are the enemy, but where are they. Cf. Moralia, 215 D, infra.

[59.2] At Mantineia, when efforts were made to dissuade him from risking a battle with the enemy who outnumbered his own men, he said, He who would rule over many must fight with many. Ibid.

[59.3] When the Eleans were commended for conducting the Olympic games honourably, he said, What wonderful feat is it if they practise justice on one day in four years ? And when these same persons were persistent in their commendation, he said, What wonder if they practise honourably an honourable thing, that is, justice ? Ibid. 215 F, and Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xx. (52 C).

[59.4] To a base man, who asked him many times who was the best of the Spartans, he replied, The one most unlike you. Life of Lycurgus and Moralia, 216 C.

[59.5] When another man inquired about the number of the Spartans, he said, Enough to keep away all bad men. Cf. Moralia, 215 D; (5) infra; Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xx. (52 D).

[59.6] When another asked the same question, he said, You will think they are many, if you see them fight.

Capítulo 60

[60.1] When Dionysius, the despot, sent garments of a very costly kind for Lysander’s daughters, Lysander would not accept them, saying that he was afraid that the girls would appear more ugly because of them. Cf. Moralia, 141 D, 229 A, and Plutarch’s Life of Lysander, chap. ii. (434 C). The same story is told of Archidamus in Moralia, 218 E.,

[60.2] To those who found fault with him for accomplishing most things through deception (a procedure which they asserted was unworthy of Heracles) he used to say in reply that where the lion’s skin does not reach it must be pieced out with the skin of the fox. Cf. Moralia, 229 B; Plutarch’s Life of Lysander, chap. vii. (437 A), Leutsch and Schneidewin, Paroemiographi Graeci, i. p. 30.

[60.3] When the Argives seemed to make out a better case than the Spartans about the territory in dispute, he drew his sword, and said to them, He who is master of this talks best about boundaries of land. Cf. Moralia, 229 C; Life of Lysander, chap. xxii. (445 D).

[60.4] Seeing that the Spartans were reluctant to carry on the battle against the walls of the Corinthians, he said, as he saw a hare leap out of the moat, Are you afraid of such enemies as these, in whose walls hares go to sleep because of the men’s inaction ? Cf. Moralia, 229 D; Life of Lysander, chap. xxii. (445 D).

[60.5] When a man from Megara used frank speech towards him in the general council, he said, Your words need a country to back them. Cf. Moralia, 71 E and 229 C; Life of Lysander, chap. xxii. (445 D). A similar remark is attributed to Agesilaus in Moralia, 212 E.

Capítulo 61

[61.1] Agesilaus used to say that the inhabitants of Asia Minor were poor freemen, but good slaves. Cf. Moralia, 213 C infra. The remark is attributed to Callicratidas, Moralia, 222 E, infra. Cf. also the similar sentiment recorded in Herodotus, iv. 142.

[61.2] Regarding their custom of calling the king of the Persians the Great King, he said, In what respect is he greater than I, unless he is more upright and self-restrained ? Cf. Moralia, 78 D, 213 C, 545 A; Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxiii. (608 F); also Xenophon, Agesilaus, 8. 4. A similar remark of Socrates is found in Plato, Gorgias, 470 E.

[61.3] When he was questioned about bravery and uprightness and asked which was the better, he said, We have no need of bravery if we are all upright. Cf. Moralia, 213 C, infra, and Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xiii. (608 F).

[61.4] When he was about to break camp in haste by night to leave the enemy’s country, and saw his favourite youth, owing to illness, being left behind all in tears, he said, It is hard to be merciful and sensible at the same time. Cf. Moralia, 209 F, infra, and Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xiii. (603 B).

[61.5] Menecrates the physician, who was addressed by the title of Zeus, wrote in a letter to him: Menecrates Zeus to King Agesilaus, health and happiness. Agesilaus wrote in reply: King Agesilaus to Menecrates, health and sanity! The story is repeated in Moralia, 213 A, and in Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxi. (607 E). Aelian, Varia Historia, xii. 51, and Athenaeus, 289 B, say that it was Philip of Macedon who thus replied to Menecrates.

[61.6] The Spartans won a victory over the Athenians and their allies at Corinth, In 394 B.C. and when he learned the number of the enemy ’s dead he exclaimed, Alas for Greece which by her ain hands has destroyed so mony men, in number eneuch to conquer all the barbarians ! Cf. Moralia, 211 E, infra; Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xvi. (604 F); Cornelius Nepos, Agesilaus, 5. 2. The source is probably Xenophon, Agesilaus, 7. 4.

[61.7] He received an oracle from Zeus at Olympia such as he wished, and thereupon the Ephors commanded him to ask the Pythian god Apollo, the son of Zeus. about the same matter. So, when he arrived at Delphi, he asked the god if his opinion was the same as his father’s. Cf. Moralia, 208 F, when the oracle at Dodona is mentioned instead of Olympia. It is probable that this story, which was related of Agesipolis by Xenophon, Hellenica, iv. 7. 2, and by Aristotle, Rhetoric, ii. 23 (MSS. Hegisippus), has been transferred to Agesilaus.

[61.8] In interceding with Hidrieus of Caria for one of his friends he wrote: If Nicias has done no wrong, let him go free; if he has done wrong, let him go as a favour to me; but let him go anyway. Cf. Moralia, 209 E and 807 F; and Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xiii. (603 B).

[61.9] Being urged to hear a man who gave an imitation of the nightingale’s voice, he said, I hae heard the bird itsel’ mony a time. Cf. Moralia, 212 F and 213 C, infra Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxi. (607 E); and Life of Lycurgus, chap. xx. (52 E).

[61.10] After the battle of Leuctra, since the law decrees that all who run away in battle shall lose their citizenship, and the Ephors saw that the State was destitute of men, they, wishing to abrogate this penalty, invested Agesilaus with authority to revise the laws. He came forward into their midst, and ordered that beginning with the morrow all laws should be in full force. Cf. Moralia, 214 B, infra; Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxx. (612 ); Comparison of Agesilaus and Pompey, chap. ii. (662 E); and Polyaenus, Strategemata, ii. 1. 13.

[61.11] He was sent as an ally to the king of the Egyptians, and was shut up in camp, together with the king, besieged by hostile forces which many times outnumbered their own. As the enemy were digging a ditch around the encampment, the king urged a sally and a decisive battle, but Agesilaus refused to hinder the enemy in their desire to put themselves on an equal footing with the defending force. When the ends of the ditch almost met, he drew up his men at this gap, and contending with equal numbers against equal numbers won a victory. Cf. Moralia, 214 F, infra; Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxxix. (618 A); Polyaenus, Strategemata, ii. 1. 22; Diodorus, xv. 93.

[61.12] When he was dying he gave orders that his friends have no plaster or paint used, for this was the way he spoke of statues and portraits. For, said he, if I have done any noble deed, that is my memorial; but if none, then not all the statues in the world avail. Cf. Moralia, 215 A, infra; Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. ii. (59 F); Xenophon, Agesilaus, ii. 7; Dio Chrysostom, Oration, xxxv. (466 M., 127 R.); Cicero, Letters, v. 12. 7.

Capítulo 62

[62.1] Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus, on seeing the missile shot by a catapult, which had been brought then for the first time from Sicily, cried out, Great Heavens ! Man’s valour is no more ! Cf. Moralia, 219 A, infra.

Capítulo 63

[63.1] The Younger Agis, referring to the assertion of Demades that jugglers use the Spartan swords for swallowing because of their small size, said, But it is a fact that the Spartans, above all men, reach their enemies with their swords. Cf. Moralia, 216 C, infra, and Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xix. (51 E).

[63.2] When the Ephors ordered him to turn over soldiers to a traitor to lead, he said that he did not entrust another’s men to the man that betrayed his own. Attributed to Agis II. in Moralia, 215 C.

Capítulo 64

[64.1] Somebody promised to give to Cleomenes cocks that would die fighting, but he retorted, No, don’t, but give me those that kill fighting. Cf. Moralia, 224 B, infra, and Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xx. (52 E).

Capítulo 65

[65.1] When Paedaretus was not chosen to be one of the three hundred, Cf. Herodotus, vii. 205, and viii. 124; Thucydides, v. 72; Xenophon, Constitution of Sparta, 4.3. an honour which ranked highest in the State, he departed, cheerful and smiling, with the remark that he was glad if the State possessed three hundred citizens better than himself. Cf. Moralia, 231 B, and Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xxv. (55 C).

Capítulo 66

[66.1] When Damonidas was assigned to the last place in the chorus by the director, he said, Good ! You have discovered a way by which even this place may come to be held in honour. Cf. Moralia, 149 A and 219 E. A similar remark is attributed to Agesilaus in Moralia, 208 D, and the idea is also accredited to Aristippus by Diogenes Laertius, ii. 73.

Capítulo 67

[67.1] Nicostratus, the general of the Argives, At the time of ARchidamus III., 261-338 B.C. was urged by Archidamus to betray a certain stronghold, his reward to be a large sum of money and marriage with any Spartan woman he wished, save only the royal family; but his reply was that Archidamus was not descended from Heracles, for Heracles, as he went about, punished the bad men, but Archidamus made the good men bad.

Capítulo 68

[68.1] Eudamidas, seeing Xenocrates, already well on in years, discussing philosophy with his pupils in the Academy, and being informed that he was seeking after virtue, said, And when will he make use of it? Cf. Moralia, 220 D.

[68.2] At another time, after he had listened to a philosopher who argued that the wise man is the only good general, he said,The speech is admirable, but the speaker has never been amid the blare of trumpets. Ibid., 220 D infra.

Capítulo 69

[69.1] Antiochus, when he was an ephor, heard that Philip had given to the Messenians their land, whereupon he asked whether Philip had also given them the power to prevail in fighting to keep it. Repeated Ibid., 217 F.

Capítulo 70

[70.1] Antalcidas, retorting to the Athenian who called the Spartans unlearned, said, At any rate, we alone have learned no evil from you Athenians. Cf. Moralia, 217 D. The saying is attributed to Pleistoanax in Moralia, 231 D, and in Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xx. (52 D).

[70.2] When another Athenian said to him, You cannot deny that we have many a time put you to rout from the Cephisus, he said, But we have never put you to rout from the Eurotas ! Cf. Moralia, 217 D and 810 F, Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxxi. (613 D). The Cephisus was a river near Athens, and the Eurotas a river near Sparta.

[70.3] When a lecturer was about to read a laudatory essay on Heracles, he said, Why, who says anything against him ? Cf. Moralia, 217 D.

Capítulo 71

[71.1] While Epameinondas the Theban was general, panic never fell upon his troops.

[71.2] He used to say that the most beautiful death was death in war.

[71.3] He used to declare that the heavy-armed soldier ought to have his body trained not only by athletic exercises but by military drill as well. Cf. Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas, xv. 2. 4 and 5. For this reason he always showed a repugnance towards fat men, and one such man he expelled from the army, saying that three or four shields would scarce serve to protect his belly, because of which he could not see a thing below it. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of M. Cato, chap. ix. (341 C).

[71.4] He was so frugal in his manner of living that once, when he was invited to dinner by a neighbour, and found there an elaborate display of cake and pastry and other dishes, and perfumes as well, he left at once, saying, I thought this was to be a meal and not a display of arrogance. Cf. Moralia, 1099 C, and perhaps Diogenes Laertius, vi. 28.

[71.5] When the cook rendered his accounts to Epameinondas and his fellow-officers of the expenses for several days, Epameinondas showed indignation only at the great amount of olive oil. As his fellowofficers expressed their surprise, he said it was not the matter of expense that worried him, but that he had taken into his body so much oil.

[71.6] While the city was keeping holiday, and all were busy with drinking and social enjoyment, Epameinondas, as he was walking along unwashed and absorbed in thought, met one of his intimate friends, who inquired in surprise why it was that he alone was going about in that state. So that all of you, said he, may get drunk and have a holiday. Cf. Themistius, Oration, vii. 88 C.

[71.7] A worthless fellow, who was guilty of one of the minor offences, he would not let off at the request of Pelopidas, but, when the man’s mistress pleaded for him, he let him off, saying that such favours may properly be received by strumpets, but not by generals. Cf. Moralia, 808 E.

[71.8] When the Spartans threatened an invasion, and oracles were reported to the Thebans, of which some told of defeat and others of victory, he ordered that these be placed at the right of the speakers’ platform, and those at the left. When they had all been so placed, he arose and said, If you are willing to obey your officers, and come to close quarters with the enemy, these are the oracles for you, and he pointed to those of good omen; but if you are going to play the cowards in the face of danger, then those, and he glanced at those of ill omen.

[71.9] On another occasion, when he was leading his troops against the enemy, there came a thunderstroke, and, when those about him inquired what he thought the god meant to signify by this, he replied, That the enemy have been thunder-struck out of all sense because, when such places as those are near at hand, they pitch their camp in places such as these. Cf. Polyaenus, Strategemata, ii. 3. 3.

[71.10] He used to say that of all the fair and goodly fortune that had fallen to his lot the thing that gave him the greatest gratification was that his victory over the Spartans at Leuctra came while his father and mother were still living. Cf. Moralia, 786 D and 1098 B, and Plutarch’s Life of Coriolanus, chap. iv. (215 C).

[71.11] It was his habit to appear at all times with a well-groomed body and a cheerful countenance, but on the day after that battle he went forth unwashed and with a look of dejection. When his friends asked if anything distressing had befallen him, he said, Nothing; but yesterday I found myself feeling a pride greater than is well. Therefore to-day I am chastising my immoderate indulgence in rejoicing.

[71.12] Knowing that the Spartans were wont to conceal such calamities as this, and wishing to bring out clearly the magnitude of their disaster, he did not grant them leave to remove their dead all together, but separately by cities, so that it was seen that the Spartan dead numbered over a thousand. The story is told with slightly more details by Pausanias, ix. 13. 11 and 12.

[71.13] When Jason, monarch of Thessaly, arrived at Thebes as an ally, he sent two thousand pieces of gold to Epameinondas, who was then sadly in want. Epameinondas did not take the money, but with a steadfast look at Jason said, You are beginning wrong. Then he borrowed a couple of pounds from one of his fellow-citizens to meet his personal expenses in the campaign, and invaded the Peloponnesus. Cf. Moralia, 583 F, and Aelian, Varia Historia, xi. 9.

[71.14] On a later occasion, when the king of the Persians sent twenty-five thousand pounds to him, he assailed Diomedon bitterly because he had made such a long voyage to corrupt Epameinondas; and he bade him say to the king that if the king should hold views conducive to the good of the Thebans, he should have Epameinondas as his friend for nothing; but if the reverse, then as his enemy. Cf. Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas, xv. 4, where the same story is told in more words, and Aelian, Varia Historia, v. 5, where the fact is recorded in very few words.

[71.15] When the Argives entered the Theban alliance, In 370 B.C. ambassadors of the Athenians arrived at Arcadia and accused both nations; and when Callistratus, the chief speaker, held up Orestes and Oedipus as a reproach to their respective cities, Epameinondas, rising to reply, said, We admit that we have had a parricide among us, and the Argives a matricide; but we expelled from our land those who did these deeds, and the Athenians received them ί Cf. Moralia, 810 F, and Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas, xv. 6. 1-3.

[71.16] When the Spartans accused the Thebans of a long list of serious offences, he retorted, These Thebans, however, have put a stop to your brevity of speech ! Cf. Moralia, 545 A.

[71.17] When the Athenians took as a friend Alexander, the despot of Pherae, who was an enemy of the Thebans, and he promised to supply the Athenians with meat to be sold at a penny a pound, Epameinondas said, But we will supply them with wood to cook their meat for nothing; for we will cut down everything in their land, if they make any trouble.

[71.18] The Boeotians, relaxed by leisure, he was always desirous of keeping continually under arms, and whenever he was chosen Governor of Boeotia he used to urge his advice upon the people, saying, Bethink yourselves once more, men, for, if I am general, you will have to serve in my army. And he used to call their country, which was flat and exposed, the dancing-floor of War, Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Marcellus, chap. xxi. (310 B), where two other picturesque expressions of similar meaning are quoted. intimating that they could not hold their power over it if they did not keep a grip on the handles of their shields.

[71.19] Chabrias, in the vicinity of Corinth, having struck down some few Thebans whose eagerness led them to carry the fighting to the foot of the walls, set up a trophy. Cf. Diodorus, xv. 69. Epameinondas, ridiculing it, said, In that place should stand, not a trophy, but a Hecate; for it was in keeping to set up an image of Hecate, as they used to do, at the meeting of three ways in front of the gates.

[71.20] When somebody reported that the Athenians had sent an army, decked out with novel equipment, into the Peloponnesus, he said, Why should Antigenidas cry if Tellen has a new flute or two ? (Tellen was the worst of flute-players, and Antigenidas the best. There are many references to the skill of Antigenidas; it must suffice here to refer only to Moralia, 335 A.)

[71.21] Learning that his shield-bearer had received a great deal of money from a man who had been taken captive in the war, he said to him, Give me back my shield, and buy yourself a tavern in which to spend the rest of your days; for you will no longer be willing to face danger as before, now that you have become one of the rich and prosperous. Cf. Aelian, Varia Historia, xi. 9; Themistius, Oration, vii., 88 C.

[71.22] Being asked whether he regarded himself or Chabrias or Iphicrates as the better general, he said, It is hard to decide while we are alive.

[71.23] Upon his return from Laconia he was put on trial for his life, together with his fellow-generals, for having added, contrary to the law, four months to his term of office as Governor of Boeotia. WHen the Thebans invaded the Peloponnesus, 370-369 B.C. He bade his fellow-officers to put the responsibility on him, as if their action had been dictated by him, and said that he himself had not any words to speak better than his deeds; but if he absolutely must make a statement to the judges, he required from them as his just due, if they put him to death, to inscribe their sentence upon his tombstone, so that the Greeks might know that Epameinondas had compelled the Thebans against their will to lay waste Laconia with fire and sword, which for five hundred years Plutarch in his Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxxi. (613 B), says not less than six hundred; one is probably as correct as the other. had been unravaged; and that he had repopulated Messene after a space of two hundred and thirty years, and had organized the Arcadians and united them in a league, and had restored selfgovernment to the Greeks. As a matter of fact, all these things had been accomplished in that campaign. Thereupon the judges left the court-room with hearty laughter, and did not even take up their ballots to cast against him. There are many references to this story, and it was even used as a corpus vile for argumentation in the schools, to judge from Cicero, De inventione, i. 33 (55-56) and 38 (69). The story is repeated in Moralia, 540 D and 799 E; Aelian, Varia Historia, xiii. 42; Pausanias, ix. 14. 5-7; Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas, xv. 7. 3-8, 5. Appian, Roman History, Syrian Wars, 40-41, compares the action of Epameinondas with the similar action of Scipio Africanus Major (Moralia, 196 F); and this suggests the probability that Appian had before him Plutarch’s Parallel Lives of Epameinondas and Scipio, now lost.

[71.24] When in his last battle At Mantineia, in 362 B.C. he had been wounded and carried into a tent, he called for Daiphantus, and next after him for Iolai’das, and, learning that the men were dead, he bade the Thebans to make terms with the enemy, since no general was left to them. And the facts bore out his words, for he best knew his fellow-citizens. Cf. Aelian, Varia Historia, xii. 3. Other authors lay stress on the fortitude with which he met his end. Cf. Diodorus, xv. 87; Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas, xv. 9; Valerius Maximus, iii. 2, ext. 5; Justin, Historiae Philippicae, vi. 8.

Capítulo 72

[72.1] Pelopidas, the associate of Epameinondas in command, in reply to his friends who told him that he was neglecting a very necessary business, the amassing of money, said, Yes, on my word, money is necessary—for Nicodemus here ! Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pelopidas, chap. iii. (279 C) Aelian, Varia Historia, xi. 9. as he pointed to a lame and crippled man.

[72.2] As he was leaving home for the field of battle, his wife begged him to have a care for his life. This advice, said he, should be kept for others, but for a commander and general the advice should be to have a care for the lives of the citizens. Cf. the Life of Pelopidas, chap. xix. (288 C).

[72.3] When one of his soldiers said, We have fallen among the enemy, he said, Why any more than they among us ? Repeated in the Life of Pelopidas, chap. xvii. (286 D). A similar remark is attributed to Leonidas, Moralia, 225 B, infra, and to an unnamed Spartan, 234 B, infra.

[72.4] When he fell a victim to the treachery of Alexander, despot of Pherae, and was put in bonds, he upbraided Alexander; and when the despot said, Are you so eager to die, he replied, Yes, I certainly am, so that the Thebans may become the more exasperated, and you may get your deserts the sooner. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pelopidas, chap. xxviii. (293 A).

[72.5] Thebe, the despot’s wife, carne to Pelopidas and said that she was amazed because he was so cheerful in his bonds. Pelopidas replied that he was even more amazed at her because she without being in bonds could abide Alexander. Ibid. (293 B).

[72.6] After Epameinondas had obtained his general’s release, Pelopidas said that he felt grateful to Alexander; for by actual test he had now found himself more than ever to be of good courage not only in facing war but also in facing death. SAYINGS OF ROMANS

Capítulo 73

[73.1] When some complained against Manius Curius because he apportioned to each man but a small part of the land taken from the enemy, and made the most of it public land, he prayed that there might never be a Roman who would regard as small the land that gave him enough to live on. Cf. Pliny, Natural History, xviii. 4 (18); Columella, i. 3. 10: Valerius Maximus, iv. 3. 5; Frontinus, Strategemata, iv. 3. 12.

[73.2] When the Samnites came to him after their defeat and offered him money, he happened to be cooking turnips in pots. He made answer to the Samnites that he had no need of money when he could make his dinner from this sort of food; and for him it was better than having money to hold sway over those who had it. There are many referecnes to this incident as typical of the simple life; cf. for example Plutarch’s Life of Cato Major, chap. ii. (337 A); Athenaeus, 419 A; Cicero, De Republica, iii. 28 (40); Pliny, Natural History, xix. 26 (87); Valerius Maximus, iv. 3. 5. Frontinus, Strategemata, iv. 3. 2, and Aulus Gellius, i. 14, strangely enough, attribute the remark to Fabricius.

Capítulo 74

[74.1] Gaius Fabricius, upon learning of the defeat of the Romans by Pyrrhus, said, Pyrrhus has defeated Laevinus, but the Epirotes have not defeated the Romans. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus, chap. xviii. (394 C). The defeat of Laevinus was in 280 B.C.

[74.2] When he carne to see Pyrrhus about ransoming the prisoners of war, Pyrrhus offered him much money, but he would not accept it. On the following day Pyrrhus made ready his biggest elephant,all unknown to Fabricius, to appear and trumpet suddenly behind his back; and when this plan had been carried out, Fabricius turned and said with a smile, Neither your money yesterday nor your beast to-day has astounded me. Ibid. chap. xx. (395 E).

[74.3] Pyrrhus urged Fabricius to stay with him and be the second in command, but Fabricius said, But there is no advantage in this for you; for, if the Epirotes come to know us both, they will prefer to be ruled by me rather than by you. Ibid. chap. xx. (396 A).

[74.4] When Fabricius was consul, In 278 B.C. Pyrrhus’s physician sent a letter to him, offering, if he should give thi word, to kill Pyrrhus by poison. Fabricius sent the letter to Pyrrhus, bidding him note the reason why he was the worst possible judge both of friends and of foes. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus, chap. xxi. (296 B); Cicero, De officiis, i. 13 (40), and iii. 22 (86); Valerius Maximus, vi. 5. 1; Aulus Gellius, iii. 8; Frontinus, Strategemata, iv. 4. 2.

[74.5] Pyrrhus, having thus discovered the plot, caused his physician to be hanged, and gave back the prisoners of war to Fabricius without ransom. Fabricius, however, would not accept them as a gift, but gave an equal number in return, lest he should give the impression that he was getting a reward. For, as he said, it was not to win favour with Pyrrhus that he had disclosed the plot, but that the Romans might not have the repute of killing through treachery, as if they could not win an open victory . Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus, chap. xxi. (396 D).

Capítulo 75

[75.1] Fabius Maximus wished to avoid a battle with Hannibal, but, in time, to wear out his force, which was in need of both money and food; and so he followed close after him, taking a parallel route, through rough and mountainous places. When most people laughed at him, and called him a slave in attendance on Hannibal, he paid little attention, and continued to follow his own counsels. To his friends he said that he thought the man who feared gibes and jeers was more of a coward than the one who ran away from the enemy. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Fabius Maximus, chap. v. (177 A); Diodorus, xxvi. 3. 1.

[75.2] When his colleague in command, Minucius, laid low some of the enemy, and there was much talk of him as a man worthy of Rome, Fabius said that he felt more afraid over Minucius’s good luck than over any bad luck he might have. And not long after, Minucius fell into an ambush and was in great danger of being destroyed together with his forces, when Fabius carne to his aid, slew many of the enemy, and rescued him. Whereupon Hannibal said to his friends, Did I not often prophesy to you regarding that cloud upon the mountains, that some day it would let loose a storm upon us ? Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Fabius Maximus, chaps. viii., xi., and xii. (179 A, 180 D, and 181 C); Livy, xxii. 25.

[75.3] After the misfortune which befell the State at Cannae In 216 B.C. he was chosen consul with Claudius Mar cellus, a man possessed of daring and spoiling for a figbt with Hannibal. Fabius hoped, if nobody fought with Hannibal, that Hannibal’s forces, being under continual strain, would soon give out. Wherefore Hannibal said that he had more to fear from Fabius who would not fight than from Marcellus who would. Plutarch’s Life of Fabius Maximus, chap. xix. (185 A-C).

[75.4] A certain Lucanian soldier was accused of wandering often from the camp at night for love of a young woman. Fabius, on hearing the accusation, ascertained that in other respects the man was an admirable man-at-arms, and he ordered that they secretly seize the man’s mistress and bring her to him. When she was brought, he sent for the man, and said to him, Your being away at night, contrary to the regulations, has not passed unnoticed, nor, on the other hand, your good service in the past. Therefore let your oifences be atoned for by your brave and manly deeds, and in future you will be with us, for I have a surety. And leading forward the girl he presented her to him. Ibid. chap. xx. (186 A-C). Cf. also Valerius Maximus, vii. 3. 7.

[75.5] Hannibal kept the Tarentines in subjection by a garrison-all the city except the acropolis. Fabius drew him away a very long distance by a trick, and captured and sacked the city. When his secretary asked him what decision he had reached in regard to the sacred images, he said, Let us leave behind for the Tarentines their angered gods. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Fabius Maximus, chap. xxii. (187 A-C); Livy, xxvii. 16.

[75.6] Marcus Livius, who had all the time held the acropolis with his garrison, said that it was because of him that the city had been taken. The others laughed at him, but Fabius said, You are quite right; for, if you had not lost the city, I should not have recaptured it. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Fabius Maximus, chap. xxiii. (187 E); Cicero, De oratore, ii. 67 (273), and De senectute, 4 (11).

[75.7] When he was already an elderly man, his son was consul, and was attending to the duties of his office in public in the presence of a large number of people. Fabius, mounted, was advancing on horseback. When the young man sent a lictor, and ordered his father to dismount, the others were thrown into consternation, but Fabius, leaping from his horse, ran up more nimbly than his years warranted, and, embracing his son, said, Well done, my boy; you show sense in that you realize whose official you are, and what a high office you have taken upon you. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Fabius Maximus, chap. xxiv. (188 A); Livy, xxiv. 44; Valerius Maximus, ii. 2. 4; Aulus Gellius, ii. 2.

Capítulo 76

[76.1] Scipio the Elder used to spend on literature all the leisure he could win from his military and political duties, and he used to say that he was busiest whenever he had nothing to do. Cf. Cicero, De officiis, iii. 1 numquam se minus otiosum esse quam cum otiosus . . . esset.

[76.2] When he captured Carthage New Carthage in Spain, 210 B.C.; Polybius, x. 8-19; Livy, xxvii. 7 and xxvi. 42-51. by assault, some of his soldiers, having taken captive a comely maiden, came to him with her, and offered to give her to him. I would gladly take her, said he, if I were a private and not a commander. Cf. Polybius, x. 19; Polyaenus, Strategemata, viii. 16. 6; Livy, xxvi. 50; Valerius Maximus, iv. 3. 1; Frontinus, Strategemata, ii. 11. 5; Aulus Gellius.

[76.3] While he was besieging the city of Baria, Baria, attested by inscriptions, is probably the right spelling (variants: Barea, Bareia, Badia, Batheia), if the same town is meant. in which was visible a temple of Venus overtopping all else, he ordered that in giving sureties for appearance they should specify that place, since he purposed two days hence to hear litigants in this temple of Venus. And so he did, as he had foretold, after the city had been taken. Cf. Valerius Maximus, iii. 7. 1; and Aulus Gellius, vi. 1.

[76.4] When somebody inquired in Sicily on what he placed his reliance in purposing to take his army across to Carthage, he pointed out to the inquirer three hundred men As in Livy, xxix. 1; Valerius Maximus, vii. 3. 3. in armour, who were drilling, and also a lofty tower which overlooked the sea. There is not one of these men, said he, who would not go up to the top of that tower and throw himself down head first at my command.

[76.5] When he had crossed over, and was master of the land, and had burned the enemy’s camps, the Carthaginians sent to him and made a treaty of peace, agreeing to surrender their elephants and ships, and to pay an indemnity. Polybius, xv. 18, and Livy, xxx. 16, indicate similar terms. But when Hannibal had sailed back from Italy, they were sorry because of their agreement, since they did not now feel afraid. Scipio, learning this, said that, not even if they wished it, would he keep the compact unless they paid a million pounds more, because they had sent for Hannibal. Not noted in Livy, xxx. 35, nor elsewhere, apparently.

[76.6] When the Carthaginians had been utterly overthrown, they sent envoys to him to negotiate a treaty of peace, but he ordered those who had come to go away at once, refusing to listen to them before they brought Lucius Terentius. This Terentius was a Roman, a man of good talents, who had been taken prisoner by the Carthaginians. And when they came bringing the man, Scipio seated him on the tribune next to himself in the conference, and, this done, he took up the negotiations with the Carthaginians, and terminated the war. Cf. Livy, xxx. 43.

[76.7] Terentius marched behind him in the triumphal procession, wearing a felt cap just like an emancipated slave. Cf. Livy, xxx. 45; Valerius Maximus, v. 2. 5.And when Scipio died, Terentius provided wine with honey for all who attended the funeral to drink their fill, and did everything else connected with his burial on a grand scale. But this, of course, was later. Cf. Livy, xxxviii. 55.

[76.8] Antiochus the king, Antiochus the Great. after the Romans had crossed over to attack him, In 190 B.C. sent to Scipio to ask about terms of peace. This should have been done before, said Scipio, but not now, when you have taken the bit and the rider is in the saddle. Cf. Polybius, xxi. 15; Livy, xxxvii. 36; Appian, Roman History, the Syrian Wars, vi. 29.

[76.9] The Senate voted that he should receive a sum of money from the treasury, but the treasurers were not willing to open it on that day; whereupon he said that he would open it himself, for the reason it was kept closed, he declared, was because he had fdled it with so much money. Cf. Polybius, xxxiii. 14; and Valerius Maximus, iii. 7. 1.

[76.10] When Petillius and Quintus brought before the people many accusations against him, he remarked that on this very day he had conquered the Carthaginians and Hannibal, and he said that he himself, with a garland on, was on his way up to the Capitol to offer sacrifice, and he bade anyone who so wished to give in his vote about him. With these words he went his way, and the people followed after, leaving behind his accusers still speaking.There are many references to this incident. Cf. Moralia, 540 F; Plutarch’s Life of Cato Major, chap. xv. (344 D), Polybius, xxiii. 14; Livy, xxxviii. 50-51; Aulus Gellius, iv. 18. See also the note on the similar action of Epameinondas, Moralia, 194 B, supra.

Capítulo 77

[77.1] Titus Quintius, from the very first, was a man of such conspicuous talent that he was chosen consul without having been tribune, praetor, or aedile.That is, without passing through the regular cursus honorum. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Flamininus, chap. ii. (369 C). He was sent in command of the army against Philip, and was prevailed upon to meet him in conference. Philip insisted that he ought to receive some Romans as a guarantee of his safety, since Quintius was accompanied by many of his countrymen and he all alone represented the Macedonians. The truth is, said Quintius, that it is you who have made yourself all alone by putting to death your friends and kindred. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Flamininus, chap. xvii. (378 D); Polybius, xviii. 7.

[77.2] Having vanquished Philip in battle, At Cynoscephalae in 197 B.C.: see Plutarch’s Life of Flamininus, chap. viii. (372 F); Polybius, xviii. 20-27; Livy, xxxiii. 7-10. he proclaimed at the Isthmian games that henceforth he left the Greeks free and independent. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Flamininus, chap. x. (374 D); Livy, xxxiii. 32. Whereupon, all the Romans who had been taken captive in the days of Hannibal and were the slaves of Greek masters the Greeks purchased from their owners at twenty pounds for each man, and gave them as a present to Quintius; and these followed him in his triumphal procession wearing felt caps on their heads as is the custom for slaves that have been emancipated. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Flamininus, chap. xiii. (376 F); Livy, xxxiv. 52; Valerius Maximus, v. 2. 6.

[77.3] When the Achaeans were minded to send an army against the island of the Zacynthians, he bade them beware lest, if they extended their head, tortoise-like, outside of the Peloponnesus they should find themselves in danger. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Flamininus, chap. xvii. (378 D); Livy xxxvi. 32.

[77.4] When Antiochus the king, with a great force, arrived in Greece, and all were terror-stricken at the great numbers of the men and their armament, Flamininus told a story for the benefit of the Achaeans as follows: He said he was in Chalcis dining with a friend, and was amazed at the great number of the meats served. But his friend said that these were all pork, differing only in their seasoning and the way they were cooked. So then, he said, do not you, either, be amazed at the king’s forces when you hear the names: 4 pikemen, panoplied, foot-guards, archers with two horses. For all these are but Syrians differing from one another only in their paraphernalia. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Flamininus, chap. xvii. (378 E); Livy, xxxv. 49.

[77.5] He made a joke at the expense of Philopoemen, general of the Achaeans, who had plenty of horsemen and men-at-arms, but was not well off for money; Quintius said that Philopoemen had arms and legs but no belly. As a matter of fact, Philopoemen, in physical appearance, was something like this. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Philopoemen, chap. ii. (357 A).

Capítulo 78

[78.1] Gnaeus Domitius, whom Scipio the Great appointed in his stead as a colleague for his brother Lucius in the war against Antiochus, when he had inspected the battle-line of the enemy, and the officers of his staff urged him to attack at once, said that there was not time enough to hew down so many thousands, plunder their baggage, return to camp, and enjoy their usual comforts; but all this they would do on the morrow at the right time. And on the next day he engaged the enemy, and slew fifty thousand of them. Cf. Appian, Roman History, the Syrian Wars, vi. 30-36; Livy, xxxviii. 39.

Capítulo 79

[79.1] Publius Licinius, consul in command of the army, was defeated by Perseus, king of the Macedonians, in a cavalry battle, with the loss of two thousand eight hundred men killed or captured. After the battle, when Perseus sent envoys regarding a treaty of peace, the vanquished bade the victor submit his case to the Romans. Cf. Polybius, xxvii. 8; Livy, xlii. 62.

Capítulo 80

[80.1] Paulus Aemilius, when he was a candidate for a second term as consul, failed of election. But when the war against Perseus and the Macedonians dragged on because of the inexperience and effeminacy of the generals, the people appointed him consul. But he said he owed no thanks to them; for it was not because he wanted office, but because they wanted an officer, that he was chosen general. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus, chap. vi. (258 B), chap. ix. (259 C), chap. xi. (260 C).

[80.2] Coming home from the Forum and finding Tertia, his little daughter, in tears, he asked the reason. And she said, Our Perseus is dead. (It was a pet dog which had that name.) Good luck be with me, my girl, said he; I accept the omen. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus, chap. x. (260 B), quoted from Cicero, De divinatione, i. 46 (103); see too Valerius Maximus, i. 5. 3.

[80.3] Finding at camp much boldness and talk on the part of would-be generals and meddlers, he told them to keep quiet, and only sharpen their swords, and he would attend to everything else. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus, chap. xiii. (261 F), and chap. xi. (260 C); Livy, xliv. 22 and 34.

[80.4] He gave orders that the sentinels at night should stand guard without spear or sword, so that, with no hope of defending themselves against the enemy, they might better contend against sleep. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus, chap. xiii. (262 A); Livy, xliv. 33, says without shield.

[80.5] Having invaded Macedonia by way of the mountains, and seeing the enemy standing in battle array, he said, in answer to Nasica’s urgings to attack at once, Oh yes, if I were of your age; but much experience forbids me to fight, immediately after a march, against an army standing in battle array. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus, chap. xvii. (263 F).

[80.6] Having vanquished Perseus, he said, as he was carrying out the entertainments to celebrate the victory, that it was a part of the same proficiency to provide an army most terrifying to an enemy and a party most agreeable to friends. Ibid. chap. xxviii. (270 D); Moralia, 615 E. Cf. Stobaeus, Florilegium, xviii. 22.

[80.7] Perseus, having been made a prisoner, indignantly spurned the thought of being made a part of his victor’s triumph. That rests with you, said Aemilius, thereby giving him leave to make away with himself. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus, chap. xxxiv. (273 C).

[80.8] Of the unlimited treasure which was found he took nothing himself, but to his son-in-law Tubero Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus, chap. v. (257 C). he gave a silver goblet of five pounds weight in recognition of his supreme valour. And this, they say, is the first silver heirloom that ever found its way into the Aelian house. Ibid. chap. xxviii. (270 E); cf. also Pliny, Natural History, xxxiii. 50 (142); and Valerius Maximus, iv. 4. 9.

[80.9] Of the four male children that were born to him, two he happened to have given to others for adoption. To the houses of Scipio and of Fabius. Of the two that were at home one died five days before his triumph, at the age of fourteen, and the other five days after the triumph, at the age of twelve. When he went forth, and the people expressed their compassion and sympathy, he said that now he had no fears or misgivings about his country, since Fortune had thrust upon his house the retribution due for all their good fortune, and he had received this in behalf of all. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus, chaps. xxxv. and xxxvi. (274 A and F); Seneca, Ad Marciam de consolatione, 13; Valerius Maximus, v. 10. 2; Velleius Paterculus, i. 10. Cicero refers briefly to Aemilius’s fortitude (De amicit, 2 (9); Tusc. Disput. iii. 28 (70); Letters, iv. 6).

Capítulo 81

[81.1] The Elder Cato, in assailing the profligacy and extravagance rife among the people, said that it was hard to talk to a belly which had no ears. Cf. Moralia, 131 D and 996 D, and Plutarch’s Life of M. Cato, chap. viii. (340 A).

[81.2] He said he wondered how a city could continue to exist unscathed in which a fish sold for more than an ox ! Ibid. and Moralia, 668 B.

[81.3] In bitter criticism of the prevalent domination of women, he said, All mankind rules its women, and we rule all mankind, but our women rule us. See the note on Moralia, 185 D (10), supra.

[81.4] He said that he preferred to receive no thanks when he had done a favour rather than to suffer no punishment when he had done a wrong, and that he always granted pardon to all who erred, with the single exception of himself. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of M. Cato, chap. viii. (340 F).

[81.5] In trying to stimulate the officials to administer sharp rebuke to the erring, he used to say that, if those who have the power to discourage crime do not discourage it, then they encourage it. Cf. the somewhat similar sentiment attributed to Pythagoras in Stobaeus, Florilegium, xlviii. 112.

[81.6] He said that it gave him more joy to see those of the youth that blushed than those that blanched. Cf. Moralia, 29 E and 528 F, and the Life of M. Cato, chap. ix. (341 C).

[81.7] He said that he hated a soldier who plied his hands in marching and his feet in fighting, and whose snore was louder than his battle-cry. Life of M. Cato, ibid.

[81.8] He said that the worst ruler is one who cannot rule himself. Cf. Moralia, 210 F (33), infra.

[81.9] He thought it especially necessary for every man to respect himself, since no man is ever separated from himself.

[81.10] Seeing that statues were being set up in honour of many men, he said, As for myself, I had rather that men should ask why there is not a statue of Cato than why there is. Cf. Moralia, 820 B, and the Life of M. Cato, chap. xix. (347 C).

[81.11] He charged those in power to be sparing of their authority, so that authority might continue always to be theirs.

[81.12] He used to say that those who rob virtue of honour rob youth of virtue.

[81.13] An official or a judge, he said, ought neither to require importuning to grant what is right nor to yield to importuning to grant what is wrong.

[81.14] Wrongdoing, he used to say, even if it brings no risk to its authors, brings risk to all.

[81.15] He used to say that, since there are so many odious things connected with old age, it is only right not to add the odium which comes from vice. Cf. Moralia, 784 A and 829 F; and Plutarch’s Life of M. Cato, chap. ix. (341 D).

[81.16] He had an idea that the man who has lost his temper differs from him who has lost his mind only in duration of time. Cf. Horace, Epistles, i. 2. 62; Seneca, De ira, i. 1. 2.

[81.17] He said that those who use their good fortune reasonably and moderately are least envied; for people envy not us but our surroundings.

[81.18] He used to say that those who are serious in ridiculous matters will be ridiculous in serious matters.

[81.19] He used to say that it is necessary to make good deeds secure by means of good deeds, so that they may not fall off in their repute.

[81.20] He used to rebuke the citizens for electing always the same men to office. For, said he, you will give the impression that you hold office to be of no great worth, or else that you hold not many men to be worthy of office. Cf. Plutarch’s Life oF M. Cato, chap. viii. (340 D).

[81.21] He pretended to be amazed at the man who had sold his lands bordering on the sea as being himself stronger than the sea. For, said he, what the sea only laps, this man has easily drunk up. Ibid.

[81.22] When he was a candidate for the censorship, and saw the other candidates soliciting the populace and flattering them, he himself cried out that the e C/. Plutarch’s Life of M. Cato, chap. viii. (340 d). d Ibid. people had need of a stern physician and a thorough cleansing; they must choose not the most agreeable but the most inexorable man. As a result of his words he was the first choice of the electors. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of M. Cato, chap. xvi. (345 D).

[81.23] In instructing the young men to fight boldly, he said that ofttimes talk is better than the sword and the voice better than the hand to rout and bewilder the enemy. Ibid. chap. i. (336 E); cf. also Plutarch’s Life of Coriolanus, chap. viii. (216 F); Life of M. Cato, chap. x. (241 F).

[81.24] When he was waging war against the peoples living by the river Baetis, In 195 B.C. in Spain. he was put in great peril by the vast numbers of the enemy. The Celtiberians were ready and willing to come to his aid for forty thousand pounds, but the other Romans were against agreeing to pay barbarian men. Cato said they were all wrong; for if they were victorious, the payment would come not from themselves, but from the enemy; and if they were vanquished there would be no debtors and no creditors. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of M. Cato, chap. x. (341 F).

[81.25] He captured cities more in number, as he says, than the days he spent among the enemy, yet he himself took nothing from the enemy’s country beyond what he ate and drank. Ibid. chap. x. (342 A).

[81.26] He distributed to each soldier a pound of silver, saying it was better that many should return from the campaign with silver than a few with gold. For the officials, he said, ought to accept no other increase in the provinces except the increase of their repute.f

[81.27] He had five persons to wait upon him in the campaign, one of whom bought three of the captives. But when he discovered that Cato knew of it, he did not wait to come before his master, but hanged himself. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of M. Cato, chap. x. (342 B).

[81.28] He was urged by Scipio Africanus to lend his influence to help the banished Achaeans to return to their homes, but he made as though he cared nothing about the matter; in the Senate, however, where the subject aroused much discussion, he arose and said, We sit here as if we had nothing to do, debating about some poor old Greeks whether they shall be carried to their graves by bearers who live in our country or in Greece. Ibid. chap. ix. (341 A. - Polybius, xxxv. 6).

[81.29] Postumius Albinus wrote a history in the Greek language, in which he craved the indulgence of his readers. Cato said sarcastically that he ought to be granted indulgence if he had written the book under compulsion by a decree of the Ampictyonic Council! Ibid. chap. xii. (343 B); Polybius, xxxix. 12 (- xl. 6).

Capítulo 82

[82.1] The Younger Scipio, they say, in the fifty-four years of his life bought nothing, sold nothing, built nothing, and left only thirty-three pounds of silver and two of gold in a great estate. So little he left, in spite of the fact that he was master of Carthage, and was the one among the generals who had made his soldiers richest. Cf. Aelian, Varia Historia, xi. 9; Polybius, xviii. 35; Pliny, Natural History, xxxiii. 50 (141).

[82.2] He observed the precept of Polybius, and tried never to leave the Forum before he had in some way made an acquaintance and friend of somebody among those who spoke with him. Cf. Moralia, 659 E. Aelian, Varia Historia, xiv. 38, speaks of the advice as given by Epameinondas to Pelopidas, possibly confusing the two Scipios, and the two Lives (of Epameinondas and the elder Scipio)!

[82.3] While he was still a young man he had such repute for bravery and sagacity that when Cato the Elder was asked about the men in the army at Carthage, of whom Scipio was one, he said, He, and he only, has wisdom; the rest are but fluttering shadows. Cf. Moralia, 805 A; Plutarch’s Life of M. Cato, chap. xxvii. (352 F); Livy, Epitome of Book xlix. It may be inferred from Suidas, s.v. ἀίσσουσιν that the original source was Polybius. The Homeric quotation is from the Odyssey, x. 495.

[82.4] When he came to Rome from a campaign, the people called him to office, The consulship in 147 B.C. Cf. Velleius Paterculus, i. 12. 3. not by way of showing favour to him, but hoping through him to capture Carthage speedily and easily.

[82.5] After he had passed the outer wall, the Carthaginians stoutly defended themselves in the citadel. He perceived that the sea lying between was not very deep, and Polybius advised him to scatter in it iron balls with projecting points, or else to throw into it planks full of spikes so that the enemy might not cross and attack the Roman ramparts. Cf. Zonaras, ix. 29. But Scipio said that it was ridiculous, after they were in possession of the walls and well within the city, to endeavour to avoid fighting the enemy. An account of the capture of Carthage is given by Diodorus, xxxii. 23-25, and Appian, Roman History, the Punic Wars, xix. 127-132. Cf. also Valerius Maximus, iii. 7. 2.

[82.6] He found the city full of Greek statues and votive offerings, which had come from Sicily, and so he caused proclamation to be made that the men from those cities who were there might identify them and carry them away. Cf. Diodorus, xxxii. 25; Cicero, Against Verres, ii. 35 (86) and iv. 33 (73); Livy, Epitome of Book li.; Valerius Maximus, v. 1. 6.

[82.7] He would not allow either slave or freedman of his to take anything or even buy anything from the spoil, when everybody was engaged in looting and plundering. Cf. Moralia, 97 C, and note e on p. 187.

[82.8] He was active in the support of Gaius Laelius, the dearest of his friends, when he was a candidate for the consulship, and he inquired of Pompey Quintus Pompey, consul 141 B.C. whether he also was a candidate. (It was reputed that Pompey was the son of a flute-player.) Pompey said that he was not a candidate, and offered to take Laelius about with him and help him in his canvass, and they, believing his words and waiting for his co-operation, were completely deceived. For it was reported that Pompey was himself going about and soliciting the citizens. The others were indignant, but Scipio laughed and said, It is because of our own stupidity; for, just as if we were intending to call not upon men but upon gods, we have been wasting any amount of time in waiting for a flute-player ! Cf. Cicero, De amicitia, 21 (77).

[82.9] When Appius Claudius was his rival In 142 B.C. for the censorship, and asserted that he greeted all the Romans by name, while Scipio knew hardly one of them, Scipio said, You are quite right; for I have not taken such pains to know many as to be unknown to none. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus, chap. xxxviii. (275 C).

[82.10] He bade the people, inasmuch as they happened to be waging war against the Celtiberians, to send out both himself and his rival either as legates or tribunes of the soldiers, and take the word and judgement of the fighting men in regard to the valour of each.

[82.11] After he was made censor, he deprived a young knight of his horse because, at the time when war was being waged against Carthage, this young man had given an expensive dinner for which he had ordered an honey-cake to be made in the form of the city, and, calling this Carthage, he set it before the company for them to plunder. When the young man asked the reason why he had been degraded, Scipio said, Because you plundered Carthage before I did!

[82.12] Seeing Gaius Licinius coming before him, he said, I know that this man is guilty of perjury, but, since no one accuses him, I cannot myself be both accuser and judge. Cf. Cicero, Oration for Cluentius, 48 (134); Valerius Maximus, iv. 1. 10.

[82.13] He was sent out by the Senate a third time for the purpose, as Cleitomachus Poseidonius (instead of Cleitomachus) is found in Moralia, 777 A, and is also suggested by Athenaeus, 549 D. says, of Looking upon men’s arrogant acts and their acts of good order,Homer, Od. xvii. 487. Scipio’s journeyings, beginning in 141 B.C., took him over most of the countries around the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. that is, as an inspector of cities, peoples, and kings; and when he arrived at Alexandria and, after disembarking, was walking with his toga covering his head, the Alexandrians quickly surrounded him, and insisted that he uncover and show his face to their yearning eyes. And so he uncovered amid shouting and applause. The king could hardly keep up with them in walking because of his inactive life and his pampering of his body, Ptolemy VII., called Physcon by the Alexandrians because of his fat and unwieldy body. and Scipio whispered softly to Panaetius, Already the Alexandrians have received some benefit from our visit. For it is owing to us that they have seen their king walk. Cf. Moralia, 777 A; Diodorus, xxxiii. 28a; Athenaeus, 549 D; Cicero, Academics, ii. 2 (5); Justin, Historiae Philippicae, xxxviii. 8. 8.

[82.14] His one companion in his travels was a friend Panaetius, a philosopher, and there were five servants. When one of these died in a foreign land, he did not wish to buy another, and so sent for one from Rome. Cf. Athenaeus, 273 A (-Polybius, Frag. 166, ed. Hultsch); Valerius Maximus, iv. 3. 13.

[82.15] Inasmuch as the Numantians seemed invincible in battle and had vanquishedany generals, the people made Scipio consul the second time In 134 B.C. for this war. When many were eager to enlist for the campaign, the Senate intervened, on the ground that Italy would be unprotected. Moreover, they would not allow him to take money from what was already on hand, but set aside for his use the revenues from taxes not yet due. Scipio said that he did not need monev, for his own and that of his friends would be sufficient; but in regard to the soldiers he did find fault. Cf. Appian, Roman History, the Wars in Spain, xiv. 84. For he said that the war was a hard war; if it was owing to the bravery of the enemy that they had been vanquished so many times, then it was hard because it was against such men; if it was owing to the want of bravery in their own citizens, then it was hard because it must be conducted with such men.

[82.16] When he arrived at the camp, and found there much disorder, licentiousness, superstition, and luxury, he straightway drove out the soothsayers, diviners, and panders, and issued orders to send away all camp-utensils except a pot, a spit, and an earthenware drinking-cup. But he conceded a goblet of silverware of not more than two pounds weight to those who wished to keep such. He forbade bathing, and of those who took a rub-down he required that each man should rub himself, saying that the pack-animals, not being provided with hands, needed somebody to rub them. He also issued orders that the soldiers should eat their luncheon standing, and that it should be something uncooked, but that they might recline at dinner, and this should be bread or porridge simply, and meat roasted or boiled. He himself went about with a black cloak pinned around him, saying that he was in mourning for the disgrace of the army. Appian, Roman History, The Wars in Spain, xiv. 85; Polyaenus, Strategemata, viii. 16. 2; Livy, Epitome of Book lvii.; Valerius, Maximus, ii. 7. 1.

[82.17] He detected in the baggage carried by the pack-animals of Memmius, a military tribune, wine coolers set with precious stones, the work of Thericles, A famous Corinthian potter. and said to him, By such conduct you have made yourself useless to me and your country for thirty days, Presumably the period of his disgrace and punishment. but useless to yourself for your whole lifetime. Cf. Frontinus, Strategemata, iv. 1. 1.

[82.18] When another man showed him a shield beautifully ornamented, he said, A fine shield, young sir; but it is more fitting that a Roman rest his hopes in his right hand rather than in his left. So in Aelian, Varia Historia, xi. 9. Slightly variant versions are to be found in Polyaenus, Strategemata, viii. 16. 4; Frontinus, Strategemata, iv. 1. 5; Livy, Epitome of Book lvii.

[82.19] Another carrying a timber for the palisade said that it was awfully heavy. Very likely, said Scipio, for you put more trust in this wood than in your sword. Cf. Polyaenus, Strategemata, viii. 16. 3; Livy, Epitome of Book lvii.

[82.20] Observing the recklessness of the enemy, he said that he himself was buying security with time; for a good general, like a physician, needed to operate with steel only as a last resort. Cf. Aulus Gellius, xiii. 3. 6, where Scipio quotes a similar aphorism of his father’s. Nevertheless he attacked at the proper time and routed the Numantians. Appian relates that Numantia was reduced by systematic siege (Wars in Spain, 89 ff.).

[82.21] When the older men asked the defeated soldiers why they were such cowards as to flee from the men they had so often pursued, one of the Numantians is said to have replied that the sheep were still the same sheep, but another man was their shepherd.

[82.22] After he had captured Numantia and celebrated his second triumph, he had a falling out with Gaius Gracchus in regard to the Senate and the allies; and the people, feeling much aggrieved, set out to shout him down on the rostra. But he said, The battle-cry of armed hosts has never discomfited me, and much less can that of a rabble of whom I know full well that Italy is not their real mother, but their stepmother. Cf. Polyaenus, Strategemata, viii. 16. 5; Velleius Paterculus, ii. 4; Valerius Maximus, vi. 2. 3.

[82.23] When the men about Gracchus cried out, Kill the tyrant, he said, Very naturally those who feel hostile towards our country wish to make away with me first; for it is not possible for Rome to fall while Scipio stands, nor for Scipio to live when Rome has fallen.

Capítulo 83

[83.1] When Caecilius Metellvs was desirous of leading his men against a strongly fortified place, a centurion said that with the loss of only ten men Metellvs could take the place. Metellus asked him if he wished to be one of the ten !

[83.2] A certain centurion among the younger men inquired what he was going to do. If I thought, said he, that the shirt on my back knew what is in my mind, I would strip it off and put it in the fire. Cf. Moralia, 506 D; Valerius Maximus, vii. 4. 5. Frontinus, Strategemata, i. 1. 12, attributes the remark to Metellus Pius (consul 52 B.C. with Pompey.)

[83.3] He was bitterly opposed to Scipio while Scipio lived, Cicero, De amicitia, 21 (77), and De officiis, i. 25 (87). but felt very sad when he died, and commanded his sons to take part in carrying the bier. He said that he felt grateful to the gods, for Rome’s sake, that Scipio had not been born among another people. Cf. Pliny, Natural History, vii. 45 (144), and Valerius Maximus, iv. 1. 12.

Capítulo 84

[84.1] Gaius Marius carne from an obscure family and advanced into political life through his military services. He announced himself a candidate for the greater The office of curule aedile. aedileship, but, perceiving that he was running behind, on the very same day he went after the lesser. That of plebeian aedile. Failing also to obtain that, he nevertheless did not give up the idea that he should some day be the first among the Romans. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of C. Marius, chap. v. (408 A); Cicero, Pro Plancio, 21 (51).

[84.2] He had large varicose veins on both legs, and, refusing to be fastened down, he submitted these to his physician for excision; and without a groan or even a contraction of his eyebrows he underwent the operation with fortitude. But as the physician turned his attention to the other leg, Marius would not consent, saying that the cure was not worth the pain. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of C. Marius, chap. vi. (408 E); Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, ii. 15 (35) and 22 (53); Pliny, Natural History, xi. 104 (252).

[84.3] In his second consulship Lusius, his nephew, attempted an indecent assault on one of the youths in the army, by the name of Trebonius, and the youth killed Lusius. When many accused him of the crime, he did not deny that he had killed the officer, and disclosed the circumstances; whereupon Marius ordered the crown which is given for deeds of supreme valour to be brought, and this he placed upon Trebonius. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of C. Marius, chap. xiv. (413 B); Cicero, Oration for Milo, 4 (9); Valerius Maximus, vi. 1. 12.

[84.4] Encamped against the Teutons in a place which had little water, when the soldiers said they were thirsty, he pointed out to them a river flowing close by the enemy’s palisade, saying, There is drink for you which can be bought with blood. And they called upon him to lead them on while the blood within them was fluid and not all dried up by their thirst. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of C. Marius, chap. xviii. (416 A); Frontinus, Strategemata, ii. 7. 12; Florus, Epitome of Roman History, i. 38. 8 ff.

[84.5] In the Cimbrian wars a thousand men of Camerinum who had acquitted themselves bravely he made Roman citizens, in accord with no law. To those who complained he said that he did not hear the laws because of the clash of arms. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of C. Marius, chap. xxviii. (421 E); Cicero, Oration for Corn. Balbus, 20 (46); Valerius Maximus, v. 2. 8. Cf. also Cicero, Pro Milone, 4 (10), silent enim leges inter arma.

[84.6] In the Civil War, Usually called the Social War (ὁ συμμαχιὸς πόλεμος), 90-88 B.C. when he found himself surrounded by a trench and cut off by the enemy, he held out and bided his own time. Pompaedius Or possibly Poppaedius. Silo said to him, If you are a great general, Marius, come down and fight it out. Marius replied, If you are a great general, make me fight it out when I do not wish to do so ! Cf. Plutarch’s Life of C. Marius, chap. xxxiii. (424 D).

Capítulo 85

[85.1] Catulus Lutatius, in the Cimbrian War, was encamped beside the Atiso Presumably the same river which the Roman writers call the Athesis. River. The Romans, seeing the barbarians crossing to attack, retreated, and he, not being able to check them, made haste to put himself in the front rank of those who were running away so that they might not seem to flee from the enemy, but to be following their commander. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of C. Marius, chap. xxiii. (418 F).

Capítulo 86

[86.1] Sulla, who was called the Fortunate, counted two things among his greatest pieces of fortune: the friendship of Pius Metellus, and the fact that he had not razed Athens, but had spared the city. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Sulla, chap. vi. (454 D), chap. xiv. (460 E), and the Comparison of Lysander and Sulla, chap. v. (478 B).

Capítulo 87

[87.1] Gaius Popillius was sent In 18 B.C. to Antiochus IV. (Epiphanes). draw his army from Egypt, and not to usurp the kingdom of Ptolemy’s children who were bereft of their parents. As he was making his approach through the camp, Antiochus welcomed him graciously while he was still a long way off, but he, without returning the salutation, delivered the document. When the king had read it, he said that he would think about it, and give his answer; whereupon Popillius drew a circle about him with his staff and said, While you stand inside that line, think about it and answer. All were astounded at the man’s lofty spirit, and Antiochus agreed to comply with the Roman decree; which done, Popillius saluted him and embraced him. Cf. Polybuys, xxix. 27; Appian, Roman History, the Syrian Wars, 66; Cicero, Philippics, viii. 8 (23); Livy, xlv. 12; Justin, Historiae Philippicae, xxxiv. 3; Valerius Maximus, vi. 4. 3; Valleius Paterculus, i. 10. In Pliny, Natural History, xxxiv. 11 (24), Cn. Octavian is substituted for C. Popillius.

Capítulo 88

[88.1] Lucullus in Armenia with ten thousand menat-arms and a thousand horsemen was proceeding against Tigranes, who had an army of an hundred and fifty thousand men, on the sixth day of October, the day on which, some years before, In 105 B.C. the force with Caepio had been annihilated by the Cimbrians. When somebody remarked that the Romans set that day aside as a dread day of expiation, he said, Then let us on this day strive with might and main to make this, instead of an ill-omened and gloomy day, a glad and welcome day to the Romans. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Lucullus, chap. xxviii. (510 C).

[88.2] His soldiers feared most the men in full armour, but he bade them not to be afraid, saying that it would be harder work to strip these men than to defeat them. He was the first to advance against the hill, and observing the movement of the barbarians, he cried out, We are victorious, my men, and, meeting no resistance, he pursued, losing only five Romans who fell, and he slew over an hundred thousand of the enemy. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Lucullus, chap. xxviii. (510 D-511 B).

Capítulo 89

[89.1] Gnaeus Pompey was loved by the Romans as much as his father was hated. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chap. i. (619 B). In his youth he was heart and soul for Sulla’s party, and without holding public office or being in the Senate, he enlisted many men in Italy for the army. Ibid. chap. vi. (621 D). When Sulla summoned him, he refused to present his troops before the commander-in-chief without spoils and without their having been through bloodshed. And he did not come until after he had vanquished the generals of the enemy in many battles. Ibid. 621 F.

[89.2] When he was sent by Sulla to Sicily In 82 B.C. in the capacity of general, he perceived that the soldiers on the marches kept dropping out of the ranks to do violence and to plunder, and so he punished those who were straggling and running about, and placed seals upon the swords of those who were officially sent by him. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chap. x. (624 A).

[89.3] The Mamertines, who had joined the other party, he was like to put to death to a man. But Sthennius, their popular leader, said that Pompey was not doing right in punishing many innocent men instead of one man who was responsible, and that this man was himself, who had persuaded his friends, and compelled his enemies, to choose the side of Marius. Much amazed, Pompey said that he could pardon the Mamertines if they had been persuaded by a man like him who valued his country above his own life; and thereupon he liberated both the city and Sthennius. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, 623 F, where Sthen(n)is stands instead of Sthennius (Sthennon, Moralia, 815 E), and the Himerians instead of the Mamertines.

[89.4] He crossed over to Africa against Domitius In 81 B.C. and overcame him in a mighty battle; then, when the soldiers were hailing him as commander-in-chief, he said he could not accept the honour while the enemy’s palisade still stood upright. And they, in spite of a heavy rain that enveloped them, swept on and plundered the camp. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chaps. xi.-xii. (624 C-E).

[89.5] When he returned, Sulla received him graciously with many honours, and was the first to call him Magnus (The Great). He desired to celebrate a triumph, but Sulla would not allow him to do so, since he was not as yet a member of the Senate. When Pompey remarked to those present that Sulla did not realize that more people worship the rising than the setting sun, Sulla cried out, Let him have his triumph ! Servilius, a man of noble family, was indignant, and many of the soldiers stood in his way with their demands of largess before his triumph. But when Pompey said that he would rather give up his triumph than curry favour with them, Servilius said that now he saw that Pompey was truly great, and deserved his triumph. Ibid. chaps. xiii.-xiv. (625-626 B); Moralia, 804 F.

[89.6] It is a custom in Rome for the knights, when they have completed the regular term of service in the army, to lead their horses into the Forum, one at a time, before the two men whom they call censors, and after enumerating their campaigns and the generals under whom they served, to receive such commendation or censure as is fitting. Pompey, who was then consul, with his own hand led his horse before the censors, Gellius and Lentulus, and when they asked him, in conformity with the custom, whether he had served all his campaigns, he replied, Yes, all, and under myself as commander-in-chief. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chap. xxii. (630 A).

[89.7] On gaining possession of the papers of Sertorius in Spain, among which were letters from many leading men inviting Sertorius to come to Rome with a view to fomenting a revolution and changing the government, he burned them all, thus offering an opportunity for the miscreants to repent and become better men. Ibid. chap. xx. (p. 629); similar stories are told of others, as, for example, of William III. of England.

[89.8] When Phraates, king of the Parthians, sent to him, claiming the right to set his boundary at the river Euphrates, he said that the Romans set justice as their boundary towards the Parthians. Ibid. chap. xxxiii. (637 C).

[89.9] Lucius Lucullus, after his campaigns, gave himself up to pleasures and lived very expensively, and strongly disapproved of Pompey’s yearning for the strenuous life as something out of keeping with his years. But Pompey said that for an old man it was more out of keeping with his years to be a voluptuary than to hold office. Ibid. chap. xlviii. (644 E); Life of Lucullus, chap. xxxviii. (518 B); Moralia, 785 E.

[89.10] When he was ill his physician prescribed a thrush as diet, but those who tried to get one did not find any, for thrushes were out of season; however, somebody said that they would be found at the house of Lucullus, where they were kept the year round. So then, said Pompey, if Lucullus were not a voluptuary, Pompey could not live ! and letting his physician go, he made his diet of things not so hard to procure. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chap. ii. (620 B); Life of Lucullus, chap. xl. (518 F); Moralia, 786 A. Stobaeus, Florilegium, xvii. 43, quotes from Musonius a similar story about Zeno the philosopher.

[89.11] At a time when there was a serious scarcity of grain in Rome In 57 B.C. he was appointed nominally overseer of the market, He was appointed praefectus annonae, for five years. but actually supreme master on land and sea, and sailed to Africa, Sardinia, and Sicily. Having got together a great quantity of grain, he was eager to get to Rome. A great storm arose and the pilots were hesitating, when he, going on board first himself, gave orders to weigh anchor, crying out, To sail is a necessity; to live is not a necessity. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chap. xlix. and l. (645 C-676 A); Dio Cassius, xxxix. 9; Zonaras, x. 5; Cicero, Letters to Atticus, iv. 1. 7.

[89.12] When his falling-out with Caesar came to light, one Mareellinus, who was among those reputed to have been advanced by Pompey but had gone over to Caesar, inveighed against him at great length in the Senate. Mareellinus, said Pompey, are you not ashamed to revile me, when it is all owing to me that you, from being inarticulate, have become so fluent, and from being a starveling, are now able to eat and disgorge and eat again ? Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chap. li. (646 E).

[89.13] Cato assailed him bitterly, because when he himself had often foretold that Caesar’s power and his rise to fame boded no good to the democracy, Pompey had taken the opposite side; whereupon Pompey replied, Your words were more prophetic, but my actions were more friendly. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chap. lx. (651 E); Life of Cato Minor, chap. lii. (787 D).

[89.14] Speaking frankly about himself, he said that he had attained every office sooner than he had expected, and laid it down sooner than had been expected. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chap. liv. (647 F). 15. After the battle of Pharsalus In 48 B.C. he fled to Egypt, and as he was about to transfer from the trireme to a fishing-boat which the king had sent for him, he turned to his wife and son, and said never a word except the lines of Sophocles: Whoever comes to traffic with a king Is slave to him, however free he come.Nauck, Trag. Graec. Frag., Sophocles, no. 789; quoted by Plutarch also in Moralia, 33 D and the Life of Pompey, chap. lxxviii. (661 A). Appian, Civil Wars, ii. 84, and Dio Cassius, xlii. 4, also state that Pompey quoted these verses shortly before his death when he was slain by order of the king’s counselors. When he landed, he was struck with a sword, and uttering one groan, he covered his face and surrendered himself to be slain.

Capítulo 90

[90.1] Cicero, the orator, was often twitted about his name, and his friends urged him to have it changed, but he said that he would make Cicero to be held in higher esteem than the Catos, the Catuli, and the Scauri. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Cicero, chap. i. (861 C).

[90.2] When he dedicated a silver goblet to the gods, he caused the engraver to cut the letters of his first two names, but instead of Cicero to engrave a chick-pea. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Cicero, where, a few lines earlier, the derivation of Cicero from cicer, chick-pea is explained.

[90.3] He used to say that those of the orators who are given to violent vociferation rely on noise to carry them through because of weakness, just as lame men mount horses. Ibid. chap. v. (863 C).

[90.4] Verres, who had a son that had been anything but virtuous when a boy, rebuked Cicero for effeminacy and called him a corrupter of youth. Don’t you know, said Cicero, that it is proper for children to be scolded behind the doors of their own home ? Ibid. chap. vii. (864 C).

[90.5] Metellus Nepos said to him, You have caused the death of more men by your testimony than you have saved by your advocacy. Yes, said Cicero, the reason is that I am endowed with more credibility than eloquence ! Ibid. chap. xxvi. (873 F); Moralia, 541 F.

[90.6] When Metellus kept asking him who his father was, Cicero said, The answer to that same question your mother has made the more difficult for you ! For Metellus’s mother was far from virtuous, and Metellus himself was light-minded, vacillating, and carried away by his impulses. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Cicero, chap. xxvi. (874 B).

[90.7] When Diodotus, Metellus’s teacher of oratory died, Metellus had a marble raven placed over his grave. A very just tribute, said Cicero, for he taught Metellus to be high-flown, but not to be a speaker. Ibid.

[90.8] Vatinius, who was at odds with Cicero, and was a bad character generally, Cicero heard was dead, and then later discovered that he was alive. Curses on the rascal who lied so ! said he. Ibid. chap. xxvi. (873 E).

[90.9] To a man who appeared to be of African race, and asserted that he could not hear Cicero when he spoke, Cicero retorted, Yet you have ears that are not wanting in holes. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Cicero, chap. xxvi. (873 E). The story is told also in Moralia, 631 D. The pierced ears suggest a slave.

[90.10] Cicero summoned as a witness in a certain case Castus Popillius, who wanted to be a lawyer, but was ignorant and stupid. When he denied knowing anything, Cicero said, Very likely you think you are being asked about some point of law ! Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Cicero, chap. xxvi. (874 A), where the name of the man is given as Publius Consta.

[90.11] Hortensius, the orator, received as a fee a silver sphinx from Verres. When Cicero used innuendo in something that he said, Hortensius declared that he had no skill in solving riddles. Cicero retorted, And yet you have the sphinx at your house ! Life of Cicero, chap. vii. (864 D), where the sphinx is of ivory. Cf. also Pliny, Natural History, xxxiv. 18 (48), and Quintillian, Inst. Or. vi. 3. 98. Intimacy with the sphinx, the author of riddles, should have helped Hortensius!

[90.12] Meeting Voconius with three daughters who had very ugly faces, he said softly to his friends, Phoebus forbade when he his children got. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Cicero, chap. xxvii. (874 D). The verse may possibly be from the Oedipus of Euripides. Cf. Nauck, Trag. Graec. Frag., adespota, no. 378.

[90.13] When Faustus, the son of Sulla, because of a multitude of debts, posted a notice of an auction of his goods, Cicero said, I find this notice more welcome than the kind which his father used to post. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Cicero, chap. xxvii. (874 D), and Cicero, Letters to Atticus, ix. 11. The reference, of course, is to the proscription lists of men condemned which Sulla posted.

[90.14] When Pompey and Caesar took opposite sides, he said, I know from whom I flee without knowing to whom to flee. Ibid. chap. xxxvii. (879 D); Cicero, Letters to Atticus, viii. 7. 2 ego vero quem fugiam habeo, quem sequar non habeo.

[90.15] He blamed Pompey for abandoning the city, and imitating Themistocles rather than Pericles, when his situation was not like that of Themistocles, but rather that of Pericles. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, chap. lxiii. (652 F); Cicero, Letters to Atticus, vii. 11. 3, and x. 8. 4.

[90.16] When he went over to Pompey s side, changing his mind again, and was asked by Pompey where he had left Piso, his son-in-law, he said, With your father-in-law ! Pompey married Caesar’s daughter Julia as his fourth wife.

[90.17] One man changed from Caesar’s side to Pompey’s, and said that as the result of haste and eagerness he had left his horse behind. Cicero said that the man showed greater consideration-for his horse !

[90.18] To the man who reported that Caesar’s friends were downcast he retorted, You speak as if they were Caesar’s foes ! Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Cicero, chap. xxxviii. (880 B).

[90.19] After the battle of Pharsalus, when Pompey had fled, one Nonius declared that on their side were still seven eagles, and exhorted them, therefore, to have courage. Your advice would be good, said Cicero, if we were making war on jackdaws. Ibid. 880 C.

[90.20] After Caesar had conquered, he set up again with honour Pompey s statues which had been thrown down. Cicero, in speaking of him, said that Caesar, by restoring Pompey’s statues, made his own secure. Plutarch repeats this story in Moralia, 91 A; Life of Caesar, chap. lvii. (734 E); Life of Cicero, chap. xl. (881 D). Cf. Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 75.

[90.21] He set a very high value on excellent speaking, and strove especially for this, so much so that once, when he had a case to plead before the court of the centum viri, and the day was almost come, and his slave Eros reported to him that the case had been postponed to the following day, he gave the slave his freedom.

Capítulo 91

[91.1] Gaius Caesar, while still a young man, in trying to escape from Sulla, fell into the hands of pirates. First of all, when demand was made upon him for a very large sum of money, he laughed at the robbers for their ignorance of the man they had in their power, and agreed to give double the sum. Later, being kept under guard while he was getting together the money, he enjoined upon the men that they should give him a quiet time for sleep and should not talk. He wrote speeches and poems, and read them to his captors, and those who did not speak very highly of them he called dull barbarians, and threatened laughingly to hang them. And this he actually did a little later. For when the ransom was brought, and he was set free, he got together men and ships from Asia Minor, seized the robbers, and crucified them. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chaps. i.-ii. (708 A-D); Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 4: Velleius Paterculus, Roman History, ii. 41; Valerius Maximus, vi. 9. 15.

[91.2] In Rome he entered into a contest against Catulus, the leading man among the Romans, for the office of Pontifex Maximus, In 63 B.C. and, as he was accompanied to the door by his mother, he said, To-day, mother, you shall have as your son a Pontifex Maximus or an exile. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. vii. (710 D); Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 13.

[91.3] He put away his wife Pompeia because her name was linked in gossip with Clodius, but later, when Clodius was brought to trial on this charge, and Caesar was cited as a witness, he spoke no evil of his wife. And when the prosecutor asked, Then why did you put her out of the house ? he replied, Because Caesar’s wife must be free from suspicion. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. x. (712 C); Life of Cicero, chap. xxix. (875 E); Dio Cassius, xxxvii. 45; Suetonius, Divus Iulius 6 and 74.

[91.4] While he was reading of the exploits of Alexander, he burst into tears, and said to his friends, When he was of my age he had conquered Darius, but, up to now, nothing has been accomplished by me. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. xi. (712 F) and Perrin’s note in vol. vii. of the L.C.L.; Dio Cassius, xxxvii. 52. 2: Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 7.

[91.5] As he was passing by a miserable little town in the Alps, his friends raised the question whether even here there were rival parties and contests for the first place. He stopped and becoming thoughtful said, I had rather be the first here than the second in Rome. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. xi. (712 F).

[91.6] He said that the venturesome and great deeds of daring call for action and not for thought.

[91.7] And he crossed the river Rubicon from his province in Gaul against Pompey, saying before all, Let the die be cast. Ibid. chap. xxxii. (723 F); Life of Pompey, chap. lx. (651 D); Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 32 iacta alea est or esto. The expression seems to have been proverbial; Cf. Leutsch and Schneidewin, Paroemiographi Graeci, i. p. 383 and the references; Aristophanes, Frag. 673 Kock, Com. Att. Frag. i. p. 557 and Menander, Frag. 65, Ibid. iii. p. 22.

[91.8] When Pompey had fled to sea from Rome, Caesar wished to take money from the treasury, but Metellus, who was in charge, tried to stop him, and locked up the treasury, whereupon Caesar threatened to kill him. Metellus was astounded, but Caesar said, Young man, that was harder for me to say than to do. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. xxv. (725 C); Life of Pompey, chap. lxii. (652 C); Appian The Civil Wars, ii. 41 and 138; Dio Cassius, xli. 17. 2; Cicero, Letters to Atticus, x. 4. 8; Lucan, Pharsalia, iii. 114-153.

[91.9] As the transportation of his soldiers from Brundusium to Dyrrachium proceeded slowly, he, without being seen by anybody, embarked in a small boat, and attempted the passage through the open sea. But as the boat was being swamped by the waves, he disclosed his identity to the pilot, crying out, Trust to Fortune, knowing it is Caesar you carry. The story is often told. Cf. for example, Moralia, 319 B; Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. xxxviii. (726 D); Appian, Roman History, the Civil Wars, ii. 57; Dio Cassius, xli. 46; Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 58; Lucan, Pharsalia, v. 580; Valerius Maximus, ix. 8. 2.

[91.10] At that time he was prevented from crossing, as the storm became violent, and his soldiers quickly gathered about him in a state of high emotion if it could be that he were waiting for other forces because he felt he could not rely on them. A battle was fought At Dyrrhacium, 48 B.C. and Pompey was victorious; he did not, however, follow up his success, but withdrew to his camp. Caesar said, To-day the victory was with the enemy, but they have not the man who knows how to be victorious. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. xxxviii. (726 D) and xxxix. (727 B); Life of Pompey, chap. lxv. (654 A); Appian, Roman History, the Civil Wars, ii. 62; Dio Cassius, xli. 50; Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 36.

[91.11] At Pharsalus In 48 B.C. Pompey gave the word for his regiments after they had formed for battle to stand in their tracks and meet the onset of the enemy. In this Caesar said that he made a mistake, inasmuch as he lost the effect on his soldiers of the intensity and excitement which comes from rushing to the onset with enthusiasm. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. xliv. (729 B); Life of Pompey, chap. lxix. (656 C); Caesar, Civil War, iii. 92. Appian (The Civil Wars, ii. 79) says that this statement was found in Caesar’s letters.

[91.12] After he had conquered Pharnaces of Pontus by a swift drive against him, he wrote to his friends, I came, saw, conquered. In 47 B.C. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. 1. (731 F); Appian, The Civil Wars, ii. 91; Dio Cassius, xlii. 48. According to Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 37, these words (veni, vidi, vici) were borne aloft in Caesar’s triumph.

[91.13] Following upon the flight of Scipio and his followers in Africa Cato took his own life; whereat Caesar said, I begrudge you your death, Cato, for you begrudged me the saving of your life. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. liv. (733 B); Life of Cato Minor, chap. lxxii. (794 C); Appian, The Civil Wars, ii. 99; Dio Cassius, xlii. 12.

[91.14] Some looked with suspicion upon Antony and Dolabella and urged Caesar to be on his guard, but he said that he did not fear these fat and sleek tradesmen and craftsmen but those lean and pale fellows, indicating Brutus and Cassius. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. lxii. (737 C); Life of Antony, chap. xii. (921 B); Life of Brutus, chap. viii. (987 C). Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, i. 2: Let me have men about me that are fat: Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o’ nights: Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. seems to incorporate all the terms used in the Lives, but to ignore βαναύσους in this passage.

[91.15] When the conversation at dinner once digressed to the subject of death, regarding what kind of death is the best, he said, Sudden death. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, chap. lxiii. (737 F); Appian, The Civil Wars, ii. 115; Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 87.

Capítulo 92

[92.1] Caesar, who was the first to bear the title of Augustus, was only a youth when he made formal demand upon Antony for the million pounds Plutarch in his Life of Antony, chap. xv. (922 C), says 4000 talents, which would be the same as 24,000,000 drachmae (or denarii), a little less than the amount given here. Velleius Paterculus, ii. 60, says sestertium septiens miliens (= 700,000,000 sesterces), or about 6,000,000 pounds! which had belonged to the first Caesar, who had been assassinated, and which Antony had transferred from Caesar’s house to his own keeping; for Augustus wished to pay to the citizens of Rome the sum which had been left to them by Caesar, three pounds Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 83, says 300 sesterces, which is in agreement with the amount stated by Plutarch. to each man. But when Antony held fast to the money, and also suggested to Augustus that, if he had any sense, he had better forget about his demand, Augustus announced an auction of his ancestral property and sold it; and by paying the bequest he fostered popularity for himself and hatred for Antony on the part of the citizens. Cf.Plutarch’s Life of Cicero, chap. xliii. (883 A); Life of Antony, chap. xvi. (922 D); Life of Brutus, chap. xxii. (994 B); Appian, The Civil Wars, iii. 28; Dio Cassius, xlv. 3-5; Velleius Paterculus, ii. 60.

[92.2] Rhoemetalces, king of the Thracians, who had changed his alliance from Antony to Augustus, could not practise moderation when there was any drinking going on, and gave much offence by his disparaging remarks about his new alliance, whereat Augustus, as he drank to one of the other kings, said, I like treachery, but I cannot say anything good of traitors. Plutarch repeats this aphorism in his Life of Romulus, chap. xvii. (28 A). Stobaeus, liv. 63, quotes Philip of Macedon as the author of a similar remark.

[92.3] After the capture of Alexandria, the people of the city were expecting to be treated with the most frightful severity, but when he had mounted the tribune and had directed Areius of Alexandria to take a place beside him, he declared that he spared the city, first because of its greatness and beauty, secondly because of its founder, Alexander, and thirdly because of Areius his own friend. Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Antony, chap. lxxx. (953 A); Dio Cassius, li. 16; Julian, Letters, No. 51 (ad Alexandrinos); Suetonius, Augustus, 89.

[92.4] When it was told him that Eros, procurator in Egypt, had bought a quail which had defeated all others in fighting and was the undisputed champion, and that Eros had roasted this quail and eaten it, the emperor sent for him and examined him regarding the charge; and when the man admitted the fact, the emperor ordered him to be nailed to a ship’s mast.

[92.5] In Sicily he appointed Areius procurator in place of Theodorus; and when someone handed him a paper on which was written, Theodorus of Tarsus is a bald-pate or a thief; what opinion have you ? Caesar, having read it, wrote underneath, It is my opinion.

[92.6] From Maecenas, his bosom-friend, he used to receive each year on his birthday a drinking-cup as a birthday present.

[92.7] Athenodorus, A Stoic philosopher from Tarsus. Dio Cassius, lvi. 43, relates a story about his practical instruction. He was later allowed to return home (Strabo, xiv. 5. 14. p. 674). the philosopher, because of his advanced years begged to be dismissed and allowed to go home, and Augustus granted his request. But when Athenodorus, as he was taking leave of him, said, Whenever you get angry, Caesar, do not say or do anything before repeating to yourself the twenty-four letters of the alphabet, Augustus seized his hand and said, I still have need of your presence here, and detained him a whole year, saying, —ldquo;No risk attends the meed that silence brings. Cf. Bergk, Poet. Lyr. Graec. iii. p. 417, Simonides, no. 66; or Edmonds, Lyra Graeca (in L.C.L.), ii. p. 322. —rdquo;

[92.8] He learned that Alexander, having completed nearly all his conquests by the time he was thirtytwo years old, was at an utter loss to know what he should do during the rest of his life, whereat Augustus expressed his surprise that Alexander did not regard it as a greater task to set in order the empire which he had won than to win it.

[92.9] After promulgating the law about adulterers, Lex Iulia de adulteriis et de pudicitia. Cf. Horace, Odes, iv. 5. 21; Dio Cassius, liv. 16. in which it was specified how the accused were to be tried, and how the convicted were to be punished, he later, under stress of anger, fell upon a young man whose name had been linked in gossip with his daughter Julia, and struck him with his fists; but when the young man cried out, You have made a law, Caesar, such a revulsion of feeling came over him that he refused food the rest of the day.

[92.10] When he dispatched Gaius his daughter’s son C. Caesar, son of M. Agrippa and Julia. into Armenia, he besought the gods that the popularity of Pompey, the daring of Alexander, and his own good luck might attend the young man. Cf. Moralia, 319 D.

[92.11] He said that he would leave to the Romans as his successor on the throne a man who never had deliberated twice about the same thing, meaning Tiberius.

[92.12] When he was trying to quiet the young men in high station who were in an uproar, and they paid no heed, but continued with their uproar, he said, Do you young men listen to an old man, to whom old men listened when he was young. Cf. Moralia, 785 D.

[92.13] When, as it appeared, the Athenian people had committed some offence, he wrote from Aegina that he supposed they could not be unaware that he was angry; otherwise he would not have spent the whole winter in Aegina. But he neither said nor did anything else to them. Cf. Dio Cassius, liv. 7, who says, however, that Augustus spent the winter (21 B.C.) in Samos.

[92.14] One of the accusers of Eurycles Presumably the Eurycles who pursued Cleopatra’s ship (on board which was the Antony) at Actium; Cf. Plutarch. Life of Antony, chap. lxvii. (947 A). was unsparing and tiresome with his frank utterances, and went so far as to say, If these things, Caesar, do not seem to you to be of high importance, order him to repeat for me the seventh The fourth book (which tells of Brasidas), as the books are now numbered, would be in point: but we know that anciently the history of Thucydides was divided into thirteen books (and into nine books) as well as into eight books. book of Thucydides; and Augustus, much incensed, ordered the man away to prison, but, on learning that he was the sole survivor of Brasidas’s descendants, he sent for him, and, after reproving him moderately, ordered that he be released.

[92.15] When Piso Probably Cn. Calpurnius Piso, consul 7 B.C., but it may have been his father, of the same name, or L. Calpurnius Piso. built his house with great care from the foundation to the roof-tree, Augustus said, You make my heart glad by building thus, as if Rome is to be eternal.

Ὁ Διαφορεύς παρῆν